Associate Professor Dr Woo Pei Jun

Associate Professor Dr Woo Pei Jun

  • Acting Dean
  • Associate Professor
  • School of American Education (in partnership with Arizona State University)

Biography

Associate Professor Dr Woo Pei Jun is a seasoned Developmental Psychologist with over two decades of experience in teaching, research, and clinical practice. She earned her Bachelor鈥檚 degree in Psychology from Ohio State University, USA, followed by a Master鈥檚 degree from Boston University, and later completed her PhD in Psychology at Universit茅 Grenoble Alpes, France.

Dr. Woo joined 红杏视频 University after holding several key professional roles, including serving as an Early Intervention Psychologist at South Bay Mental Health in the United States. In Malaysia, she contributed as a Visiting Developmental Psychologist at institutions such as University Malaya Medical Centre, Damansara Fertility Centre, Hospital Permai, and 红杏视频 Medical Centre. From 2005 to 2010, she served as Lecturer and Coordinator of the Department of Psychology at 红杏视频 University College and was also a guest lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

She previously headed the Department of Psychology and served as Deputy Dean (Employability & Alumni) at the Faculty of Medical and Life Sciences, where she championed student development, career readiness, and alumni engagement. Currently, Dr. Woo serves as the Acting Dean of the School of American Education at 红杏视频 University.

Her research focuses on child development, face perception in multiracial contexts, and parenting. Beyond academia, Dr. Woo has developed a range of tools and programs, including ability assessments for children, early intervention initiatives for at-risk populations, and parenting programs tailored for young families. She is the author of four books on mental health, has presented her work at numerous national and international conferences, and was honoured with the Award for Excellence in Teaching at 红杏视频 University in 2011.
 

Academic & Professional Qualifications

  • PhD in Psychology, University of Grenoble Alpes, France (2021)
  • MA in Psychology, Boston University, USA (2000)
  • BA in Psychology, Ohio State University, USA (1999)

Research Interests

  • Face processing and recognition memory
  • Parent-child interaction and its effect on later socioemotional development
  • Children development
  • Developmental delay

Notable Publications

  1. Tang, J.Y.X., Toh, T.H, Ng, A.L.O., Woo, P.J. & Sclafani, V. (2024). Cultural influences on early infant-mother interactions: A comparative study of UK and Malaysian mothers. Selangor Research Day 2024, Medical Journal of Malaysia, 79(5), 26.

  2. Tan, C. P. S., Woo, P. J., & Gew, L. T. (2024). 鈥業gnorance is Bliss鈥. Is that True? Unravelling the Determinants of Plastic Recycling Intentions and Behaviours. The Journal of Environment & Development, 0(0).

  3. Kalashnikova, M., Singh, L., Tsui, A., Altuntas, E., Burnham, D., Cannistraci, R., ... & Woo, P. J. (2024). The development of tone discrimination in infancy: Evidence from a cross鈥恖inguistic, multi鈥恖ab report. Developmental science, e13459.

  4. Lim, G.J.R.Y, Wu, S.L., Yap, C.C. & Woo, P.J. (2023) Parenting practices and adolescents鈥 mental health: Serial mediation by parental acceptance and adolescents鈥 grit, Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, DOI: 10.1080/17450128.2023.2282573

  5. Gau, M.L., Ting, H.Y., Toh, T.H., Wong, P.Y., Woo, P.J., Wo, S.W., & Tan, G.L. (2023). Effectiveness of Using Artificial Intelligence for Early Child Development Screening. Green Intelligent Systems and Applications, 3(1), 1鈥13.

  6. Wu, S.L., Woo, P.J., Yap, C.C. & Lim, G.J.R.Y. (2023). Parenting Practices and Adolescents鈥 Mental Health: The Mediating Role of Perceived Maternal and Paternal Acceptance-Rejection and Adolescents鈥 Self-Efficacy. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 20, 1052.

  7. Woo, P.J. (2021). Face processing in a multiracial environment: differential experience in face recognition, face categorisation and kinship detection. [Doctoral dissertation, Universit茅 Grenoble Alpes] HDL Open Science.

  8. Woo, P.J. & Quinn, Paul & Meary, David & Lee, Kang & Pascalis, Olivier. (2020). A developmental investigation of the other-race categorization advantage in a multiracial population: Contrasting social categorization and perceptual expertise accounts. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 197. 104870.

  9. Tham, D.S.Y., Woo, P.J., & Bremner, J.G. (2019). Development of the other-race effect in Malaysian-Chinese infants. Developmental Psychobiology, 61(1), 107鈥115.

  10. Burnham, D. K., Singh, L., Mattock, K., Woo, P. J., & Kalashnikova, M. (2018). Constraints on tone sensitivity in novel word learning by monolingual and bilingual infants: tone properties are more influential than tone familiarity. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 2190.

  11. Yeoh, S.H. & Woo, P.J. (2010). Parental Involvement: Effects on satisfaction of parent child relationship. 红杏视频 Academic Journal, 7, 48-62.

  12. Teoh, HJ, Toh, C.L., Woo, P.J., Cheong, S.K. & Foo, X.Y. (2009) Stigma amongst children and families of children with mental health problems and disabilities. Technical report required by Malaysia Ministry of Health.

  13. Woo, P.J. (2008) Autism. In M.K. Thong, C.P. Wong & W.S. Lee (Eds.), Handbook of Hospital Paediatrics (pp.163-165). Selangor: UNIPRESS Publishing.

  14. Woo, P.J. (2007) Stress Management. Chapter written in Parenting at work module for National Population and Family Development Board, Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development.

  15. Woo, P.J. & Teoh, H.J (2004) Understanding Speech and Language Development. Oak Publishing: Malaysia.

  16. Teoh, H.J. & Woo, P.J. (2003) Shaping Your Child鈥檚 Behaviour. Oak Publishing: Malaysia.

  17. Teoh, H.J. & Woo, P.J. (2003) Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. Oak Publishing: Malaysia.

  18. Teoh, H.J. & Woo, P.J. (2003) Children of Separated and Divorced Parents: Feelings, Behaviour and Coping. Oak Publishing: Malaysia