Tommy Prayoga

Indonesian Students’ Representation on Psychology and Social Change: Challenge for Curriculum Progression

As a science, psychology experiences paradoxical condition. There is indeed a recognition that its applications in the educational, clinical, and industrial fields have proliferated extensively in Indonesia. However, there are criticisms that 1) psychology mimics natural science epistemology, 2) the identity of Indonesian Psychology is still in the “status quo”, 3) its role in designing social change is minimal (e.g. “Mental Revolution” movement in Indonesia is considered to be more influenced by Sociology rather than Psychology proponents), 4) psychology tends to prioritize the well-being of the elite (socially-economically) of society, not the poorest. This study used a qualitative descriptive approach to explore the social representation on the perceptions of university students about the contribution of psychology in inspiring them to create social change. Participants of this study were 104 Psychology students (28 males, 76 females; 101 undergraduate, 3 graduate students) in Jakarta, Banten, Westand Central Java, Indonesia. We asked them a) the reason for choosing Psychology study program, b) the meaning of social change, c) the psychological courses associated with social change, d) the social problems urgent to be managed by psychology, and e) what their own plans are in making the change. Generality and uniqueness of the participants’ answers will be discussed so as to generate suggestions for psychology curriculum development that is more contextual, innovative, and empowering in Indonesia.

Deeper Look in Professionalsâ Happiness and Its Relation to Ethics

Looking back at one year after the establishment of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), we all realize there are many issues and sectors left open to be developed, especially in Indonesia. One of the most important is people and their jobs. As there is a tendency for people to view the establishment as a competitive ground, we suggest seeing it as a learning platform for inspection and improvement. To change how people take and view their jobs or prospects is as important as hiring the right people. A way that psychology can contribute to this is through the study of professions happiness—what makes people happy doing their job. The focus of the study is ethics, as it is viewed as a moral compass in each profession’s responsibilities. The result of the interview of eight professions (insurance agent, teacher, journalist, nurse, developer, pastor, lawyer, and horticulturist) showed that indeed, money and status is not the top contributors in determining what makes people happy doing their jobs. It is the chance of contributions to society, or at least another person, have power over what to do, without violating ethics, and able to learn and improve. This result suggests that, there is a need for a focus shift from seeing a profession as competitive ground, to a platform of improvement, and contribution to society-within one’s own accord.

Health capability: The representation of IoT in health domain among Jakartans

The advancement of new technologies provides not only better understanding of health but also ways to encourage it. For example, IoT in health domain comes a long way than just helping individuals regulate their body. It has enabled many social functions that connect users to serve more health related purposes. However, in Indonesia, as such an idea is still novel, there is a need to examine how is it being represented in health context to increase health capabilities. We asked 241 college students across Greater Jakarta (17–25 years old; Mean of age = 20.47 years old; Standard deviation of age = 1.469 years; 83 males, 158 females) 10 questions to measure their Social Representation towards IoT in the health domain. This is a descriptive research, and the instrument for data collecting is a questionnaire. The data obtained were analyzed using Voyant tool to generate words cirrus for every answer. The result showed that although participants generally perceive that IoT in health domain is potentially beneficial and can be used to increase health capabilities, there are a few practical agency freedom limitations, such as individual dispositions and economic status.

Social-Psychological-Health Predictors of Fondness of Arkenstone Among Indonesians

Arkenstone fever is a phenomenon of a sudden boost of interest among many Indonesians towards the stones during 2014-2015. Accessories were equipped with them, minerals were hunt, and the economic for the small and medium-sized enterprises were expanded. In this study, we seek to determine and explain the underlying social psychological factors behind this trend. In 2015, we gathered 100 participants (Mage=22.61 years old, SDage=3.818 years) living in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia and possessing at least one arkenstone to examine their Aesthetic Style, Illusory Belief, Health Belief, and Connectedness to Nature to arrange a theoretical model explaining the Fondness of arkenstone. Using path analysis, we found out that Aesthetic Style primarily predicts the Fondness of arkenstone. Connectedness to Nature and Illusory Belief were found out to be able to predict Aesthetic Style, and finally, participant’s Health Belief can predict their Illusory Belief. Overall, the theoretical model formed from these findings can be integrated into a model.