Evelyn AU
Dr. Evelyn Au is an Assistant Professor of Psychology (Education). She earned her PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Prior to re-joining SMU, she was a Senior Lecturer at Nanyang Technological University, having co-developed the Interdisciplinary Collaborative Core module on Healthy Living & Wellbeing and taught Health Psychology.
Dr. Au's initial line of research inquiry explicated cultural differences in conceptualisations of perceived control, and illuminated the divergent ways in which locus of control and self-efficacy predicted academic self-regulation, perceived stress, subjective well-being, and academic performance among undergraduate students. Her research has been published in top-tier psychological journals, including Psychological Science and Organizational Behaviour & Human Decision Making Processes. More recently, her research focused on pedagogical development to enhance learning experiences, bridging the gap between academic learning and real world applications in self-awareness and interdisciplinary collaboration. In addition to internal pedagogical grants, Dr. Au served as the Principal Investigator on a MoE TRF (Tier B) grant.
Qualifications
- PhD (Social Psychology), University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2008
- MA, (Psychology) University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2006
- BA, (Psychology and Arts and Business) University of Waterloo, 2003
Research Interests
- Culture
- Implicit theories
Research Areas and Areas of Expertise
Strategic Priorities
HighlightsRecognized for advancing understanding of how cultural beliefs and social contexts shape motivation, resilience, and well-being; integrates rigorous quantitative methods with applied educational research; highly commended for teaching and mentoring across multiple institutions; recipient of multiple teaching and service awards.
Focused research areas include Negotiable fate and agency under constraints; cultural and social cognition; psychological resilience and well-being; team dynamics and instructor ratings in flipped classrooms; efficacy of AI-generated feedback in education; self-awareness and self-compassion for mental wellness.
- MOE TRF: The Role of Team Dynamics & Instructor Ratings: Potential Contributors to Learning Outcomes in Interdisciplinary Flipped Classrooms (2025-2028)
- NTU (EdeX): Honing Critical Thinking & Creativity Skills: Evaluating the Efficacy of AI-Generated vs. Instructor-Generated Feedback (2024-Present)
- NTU (EdeX): Cultivating Self-Awareness and Self-Compassion for Mental Wellness and Self-Regulated Learning (2022-Present)
- MOE AcRF Tier 1: Promoting gratitude through the acknowledgment of constraints: Challenging the merits of meritocracy and the pitfalls of fatalism (2015-2017)
- MOE AcRF Tier 1: In search of the silver lining: Exploring the positive benefits of negotiable fate in coping with failures (2013-2015)
Showing up to 6 latest publications from the past 5 years.
- S Ito, CS Ang, OP Kampman, K Rokde, T Buddhika, C Heaukulani, ...BMJ open 15 (9), e103652, 2025
Dr. Evelyn Au is an Assistant Professor of Psychology (Education). She earned her PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Prior to re-joining SMU, she was a Senior Lecturer at Nanyang Technological University, having co-developed the Interdisciplinary Collaborative Core module on Healthy Living & Wellbeing and taught Health Psychology.
Dr. Au's initial line of research inquiry explicated cultural differences in conceptualisations of perceived control, and illuminated the divergent ways in which locus of control and self-efficacy predicted academic self-regulation, perceived stress, subjective well-being, and academic performance among undergraduate students. Her research has been published in top-tier psychological journals, including Psychological Science and Organizational Behaviour & Human Decision Making Processes. More recently, her research focused on pedagogical development to enhance learning experiences, bridging the gap between academic learning and real world applications in self-awareness and interdisciplinary collaboration. In addition to internal pedagogical grants, Dr. Au served as the Principal Investigator on a MoE TRF (Tier B) grant.
Qualifications
- PhD (Social Psychology), University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2008
- MA, (Psychology) University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2006
- BA, (Psychology and Arts and Business) University of Waterloo, 2003
Research Interests
- Culture
- Implicit theories