7 July 2002

SPEECH BY RADM (NS) TEO CHEE HEAN, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND SECOND MINISTER FOR DEFENCE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE XXV INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY CULTURAL CENTRE, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
ON SUNDAY 7 JULY 2002 AT 6 PM

Prof Shih Choon Fong, President & Vice Chancellor, National University of Singapore

Prof Charles Spielberger, President, International Association of Applied Psychology

1. I am happy to be here to officiate at the opening of the Twenty-Fifth International Congress of Applied Psychology (ICAP, for short). With more than 1,500 participants from all over the world, including many distinguished practitioners who are leaders in their respective fields of psychology, ICAP plays a vital role in promoting the sharing of psychology's expanding knowledge base, and the key advances in professional practice.

2. Psychology is not a subject that is well known or understood. Often, it is mistaken to be a synonym for psychiatry. Not many people know about the contributions psychology can offer in situations requiring decision-making, in consumer behaviour, in economic behaviour and even in national development. However, some psychological research findings are relatively more well-known such as those in education. For instance, research on the different learning styles and preferences of students has resulted in the development of resource guides to inform classroom teachers and educationists of approaches that help students maximize their learning. The application of these research findings has also found its way into the classrooms of adult learners who benefit from their trainers' use of a host of strategies to help them effectively learn and acquire new knowledge and skills.

3. The application of field psychology in addressing the needs of victims of trauma resulting from a natural or man-created disaster is another common example of how applied psychology has contributed to human well-being. Hence, we now have a group of people called emergency behaviour officers who are specifically trained to counsel trauma victims to help them cope with their distress.

4. Research from industrial and organizational psychology has also impinged on the functions of an employer and employee in an organisation. Research in the field speaks of the importance of "trust" in an organization and the unspoken psychological contract. As our awareness and understanding grow about the benefits and significance of psychology, we can see that psychological research and its applications do help to improve the quality of human life and human interactions.

5. One interesting feature of human connectedness is that the building block of the vision for the larger picture always begins with the strength of the connectedness with the smallest group that the individual is born into. A child's perception of others and the world around him is rooted in the way he was brought up and in the role models that he grew up with, to name two possible factors.

6. What other factors affect the strength of this connectedness, and the individual's beliefs about and behaviour towards others? This is where psychology, social psychology to be precise, has much relevance and application value in helping people understand the cognitive processes and psychological defense mechanisms that nurture and sustain beliefs and stereotypical thinking and decision-making.

7. The challenge is for psychologists to develop new approaches and apply their research to benefit individuals and groups in a variety of settings, the workplace, school, or the family. In our rapidly changing, technologically advanced world today, psychologists face the added challenge of continuously innovating and adapting their theories and practices so as to meet the needs of individuals who are now more interconnected than ever because of globalisation, and thanks to communications technology, can now communicate and interact almost simultaneously.

8. The Twenty-fifth ICAP is thus, an important avenue for sharing and building on new research findings and approaches in psychology, which benefit human life. It provides the opportunity for psychologists, like yourselves, to communicate to others of the relevance and benefits of your work. It is, therefore, timely that the Twenty-fifth International Congress of Applied Psychology has as its theme "Making Life better for All: A Challenge for Applied Psychology".

9. I would like to commend the organisers of the XXV International Congress Of Applied Psychology for planning this congress, and the special efforts made to mount pre-Congress workshops, designed for non-psychology professionals in the fields of education, health and human resource training. Such efforts contribute to the enrichment of the overall service delivery in the respective fields. In addition, the opportunity for professional interaction also serves as a crucible for novel and original ideas and concepts.

10. It is my hope that through the professional and academic dialogue, opportunities will be presented for all participants to address, accommodate and harness the differences of our varied cultural and historical backgrounds so as to network and foster friendships. I am confident that the networking and bonds built over the week of the congress will not only permit new ideas to be cross-fertilised, but will also build alliances for future collaborations.

11. It is my pleasure now to declare the Twenty-fifth International Congress of Applied Psychology, open.