Associate Professor Dr Woo Pei Jun

Dr Woo Pei Jun

Associate Professor Dr Woo Pei Jun

  • Deputy Dean (Employability and Alumni)
  • Associate Professor
  • School of Psychology
Faculty of Medical and Life Sciences

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’s degree in Psychology from Ohio State University, USA, followed by a Master’s degree from Boston University, and later completed her PhD in Psychology at Université Grenoble Alpes, France.

Dr. Woo joined Ƶ 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 Ƶ Medical Centre. From 2005 to 2010, she served as Lecturer and Coordinator of the Department of Psychology at Ƶ University College and was also a guest lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

She previously headed the Department of Psychology at Ƶ University and currently serves as the Deputy Dean (Employability & Alumni) at the Faculty of Medical and Life Sciences. In this leadership role, she champions student development, career readiness, and alumni engagement.

Dr Woo 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 Ƶ 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). ‘Ignorance is Bliss’. 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‐linguistic, multi‐lab report. Developmental science, e13459.

  4. Lim, G.J.R.Y, Wu, S.L., Yap, C.C. & Woo, P.J. (2023) Parenting practices and adolescents’ mental health: Serial mediation by parental acceptance and adolescents’ 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), 1–13.

  6. Wu, S.L., Woo, P.J., Yap, C.C. & Lim, G.J.R.Y. (2023). Parenting Practices and Adolescents’ Mental Health: The Mediating Role of Perceived Maternal and Paternal Acceptance-Rejection and Adolescents’ 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, Université 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), 107–115.

  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. Ƶ 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’s 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