Psychology
Social & Cognitive Neuroscience (Mind & Brain)

Under this theme, research in social and cognitive psychology using traditional behavioral paradigms is potentiated by applying the latest brain imaging and brain stimulation methods to investigate cognitive and neural mechanisms of the social and psychological phenomena from both the interpersonal and intrapersonal perspectives. Specifically, we focus on examining 1) cognitive mechanisms underlying human language production to uncover the language-universal and language-specific properties of languages, and the relations between human language and cognition in general, 2) dehumanization and objectification (i.e., perceiving and treating people as animals or objects without regard to their personality or dignity) in various relationships and social situations, 3) cognitive mechanisms and causal brain connections in predicting events and patterns in the social environment. 

Signature projects:

  • A Generic Fronto-sensory Cortical Brain Network in Prediction Violation: A Simultaneous Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Event-related Optical Signal Study on Pre-attentive Change Detection, General Research Fund, Research Grants Council, HK$538,320, 2023-2026, Tse, C. Y., Wang, Y., Xiao, X.-Z.
  • Micro-and Macro-level Antecedents of Objectification, CityU start-up grant, HK$445,140, 2022-2024, Wang, X.
  • Monitor the Cerebrovascular Health with Pulse Diffusion Optical Topography (pulse-DOT) to Predict Cognitive Deterioration in Aging Population, Health and Medical Research Fund Food and Health Bureau Hong Kong, HK$1,409,116, 2021-2024, Tse, C. Y., & Chan, F. C.
  • Phonological encoding in Cantonese-English bilingual speech production: An event-related brain potential study, General Research Fund, Research Grants Council, HK$332,000, 2019-2022, Wong, A. W. K., Chen, H.-C., Huang, J., & Tsang, Y. K.
  • Processing segmental and tonal information in the production of Cantonese speech: An event-related brain potential study, General Research Fund, Research Grants Council, HK$372,520, 2017-2019, Wong, A. W. K., & Chen, H.-C.

Selected publications:

  • Wang, X., Chen, H., & Chen, Z. (in press) Women’s Self-Objectification Under Competition When They Believe Sex Is Power. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 
  • Wang, X., Chen, H., Chen, Z., & Luo, S. (2022). An exchange orientation results in an instrumental approach in intimate relationships. British Journal of Social Psychology. 
  • Zeng, G. Q., Xiao, X.-Z., Wang, Y., & Tse, C.-Y. (2022).  Belief in Biological Origin of Race (Racial Essentialism) Increases Sensitivities to Cultural Category Changes Measured by ERP Mismatch Negativity (MMN). Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-08399-3
  • Wang, J., Wong, A. W. K., & Chen, H. C. (2021). Second language experience influences salience of phonological units in spoken word production in the first language. International Journal of Bilingualism, 25(6), 1545-1559. 
  • Tse, C.-Y., Shum, Y.-H., Xiao, X.-Z., & Wang, Y. (2021). Fronto-occipital Mismatch Responses in Pre-attentive Detection of Visual Changes: Implication on a Generic Brain Network Underlying Mismatch Negativity (MMN). NeuroImage, 244,118633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118633
  • Wang, X.,  Chen, H., Chen, Z., & Yang, Y. (2021). Women’s intrasexual competition results in beautification. Social Psychological and Psychological Science, 12(5), 648-657.  
  • Wong, A. W.-K., Chiu, H.-C., Wang, J., Wong, S.-S., & Chen, H.-C. (2019). Electrophysiological evidence for the time course of syllabic and sub-syllabic encoding in Cantonese spoken word production. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 34, 677-688. 
  • Tse, C.-Y., Yip, L.-Y., Lui, T. K.-Y., Xiao, X.-Z., Wang, Y., Chu, W. C. W., Parks, N. A., Chan, S. S.-M., & Neggers, S. F. W. (2018). Establishing the Functional Connectivity of the Frontotemporal Network in Pre-attentive Change Detection with Single-pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and the Event-related Optical Signal. NeuroImage, 179, 403-413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.06.053
  • Wong, A. W.-K., Wang, J., Wong, S.-S., & Chen, H.-C. (2018). Syllable retrieval precedes sub-syllabic encoding in Cantonese spoken word production. PloS One, 13, e0207617.