The progress and development of psychology as a science in Indonesia puts more of an emphasis towards self-reports and projective methods. On the contrary, trends in psychology globally are moving towards more objective methods of measurement. Psychologists and researchers in psychology should start learning about the approaches used in biology and the medical field in examining psychological phenomenon in the development of psychology in Indonesia.
UGM Psychology’s Experimental Laboratory held a scientific discussion session to learn more about the newest findings in neuropsychology, themed “Creativity & Multi-Modals Information Processing with Neuropsychology Approach”. There were two main speakers, Elkhonon Goldberg, Ph.D. (School of Medicine, New York University) and Galang Lufityanto, Ph.D. (Fakultas Psikologi UGM), presenting the newest scientific research findings. The event lasted only for a day, on August 30, 2017 in the Faculty of Psychology. In this event, UGM Psychology collaborated with Pertamina Training and Consulting. Students, scientists, and practitioners within the field of psychology, medicine, and health attended this event.
Elkhonon Goldberg, Ph.D. presented his research, titled “Neural Mechanism on Human Creativity”. Goldberg described the use of fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and EEG (electroencephalography) to assess the mechanisms of creativity in the brain. The second speaker, Galang Lufityanto, Ph.D., delivered his material on “Behavioral and Physiological Evidence for Dual Information Processing”. His research, conducted in University of New South Wales uses a measurement of computerized tasks to assess different styles of informational processing and decision-making.
Anne Gracia R.K., an applied neuroscience practitioner in Indonesia and a member of Pertamina Training and Consulting became the last speaker for this event. After discussing about research and neuropsychology theories, Anne Garcia spoke about the practice of neuropsychology in Indonesia. Through programs such as Eduneuro and Trans Brain Action, directed to Indonesian children, Garcia expects neuroscience can be applied in Indonesia and become a building block in creating a golden generation of Indonesian children. Eduneuro provides certified training for operators of applied neuroscience activities, and Trans Brain Action is a socialization and perception-matching program on the development of applied neuroscience.
After all three speakers finished delivering their material, the discussion began. Participants of the discussion were very enthusiastic in giving comments, feedbacks, and also questions to the speakers. After the discussion, this event, the first scientific discussion held by the Experimental Laboratory ended. We look forward to other events like this, contributing to the growth of psychology in Indonesia. [Alifah]