Research Projects

These are the projects that the lab is currently working on.

Hong Kong Identity

Professor Hong has been working on Hong Kong identity since 1997. She has recently received a 5-year grant to study how people negotiate identity change during the sociopolitical transition. As Hong Kong moves towards integration with the Greater Bay Area of China, people are asked to confront their perceived historical differences and disagreements with Mainland China. Do people attempt to cope by changing their identity to fit with the new political demands or do people retain their identity and attempt to effect change in their environment?

Core readings:

Osnos, E. (2019, September 2). China’s Hong Kong Dilemma. The New Yorker, 13–14.

Cheon, B. K., & Hong, Y. (2020). Aversive responses towards culture fusion is moderated by the source of foreign cultural inflow. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 51(5), 370-386.

Zhang, J., Yang, Y., & Hong, Y. (2020). Sleep deprivation undermines the link between identity and intergroup bias. Sleep, 43 (2), zsz213, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsz213

Conspiracy Theories

This project attempts to unlock the psychological underpinnings of conspiracy beliefs across cultures. Particularly, in addition to asking what are the individual factors that contribute to conspiracy beliefs, we also attempt to discern whether there are different types of conspiracy beliefs and whether they share the same psychological underpinnings across cultures.

Core readings:

Hong, Y., Chan, H-W., & Douglas, K. M. (2021). Conspiracy theories about infectious diseases: An introduction. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 15, 1-8. DOI: 10.1177/18344909211057657

Wang, X., Zuo, S-J., Chan, H-W., Chiu, C. P-Y., & Hong, Y. (2021). COVID-19-related conspiracy theories in China: The role of secure versus defensive in-group positivity and responsibility attributions. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 15, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/18344909211034928

COVID-19 Psychology

In previous projects, we attempted to understand how COVID-19 is related to social identity, conspiracy theory, and social behavior. Currently, we are investigating COVID-19 and anti-Asian in the United States.

Core readings:

Lau, W., Tse, D., Bligh, M., Hong, Y., Kakarika, M., Chan, H-W., & Chiu, C. P-Y. (2022). Not ‘My’ Crisis: Social Identity and Followers’ Crisis Responses to COVID-19. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy.

Yeo, S-L., Phua, D.Y., & Hong, Y. (2022). The effects of dangerous world beliefs on Covid-19 preventive behaviors in Singapore: The moderating role of public health communication. International Journal of Strategic Communication.

Wang, X., Wang, T., Jiang, T., Chen, Z., & Hong, Y. (2022). Double standards in the COVID-19 pandemic: The moderation of perceived threat. European Journal of Social Psychology, 2022: 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2834.

Xiong, X., Li, J., Huang, B., Tam, T., Hong, Y., Chong, K.-C., & Huo, Z. (2022). Economic value of vaccines to address the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong: A cost-effectiveness analysis. Vaccines, 10, 495. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10040495.

Chan, H-W, Wang, X., Zuo, S-J, Chiu, C. P-Y., Liu, L., Yiu, D. W., & Hong, Y. (2021). War against COVID-19: How is national identification linked with the adoption of disease-preventive behaviors in China and the United States? Political Psychology. doi: 10.1111/pops.12752

Chan, H-W, Chiu, C. P-Y, Zuo, S., Wang, X., Liu, L., & Hong, Y. (2021). Not-so-straightforward links between COVID-19 conspiracy-theory beliefs and disease-preventive behaviours. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8:104; https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00781-2

Huang, B. Wang, J., Cai, J., Yao, S., Chan, P. K. S., Tam, T. H., Hong, Y. et al. (2021). Integrated vaccination and physical distancing interventions to prevent future COVID-19 waves. Nature Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01063-2.

Tse, D. C. K., Lau, V. W., Hong, Y., Bligh, M. C., & Kakarika, M. (2021). Prosociality and hoarding amid the COVID-19 pandemic: A tale of four countries, Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 1-14. DOI: 10.1002/casp.2516

Multicultural Processes

Globalization brings frequent mixing of multiple cultural symbols. Professor Hong is interested in studying how people respond to cultural mixing behaviorally, cognitively, and physiologically.

Core readings:

Hong, Y., & Cheon, B. K. (2017). How does culture matter in the face of globalization. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12, 810-823.

Hong, Y., Zhan, S., Morris, M. W., & Benet-Martinez, V. (2016). Multicultural Identity Processes. Current Opinion in Psychology, Volume 8, April 2016, 49-53.

Hong, Y., Morris, M. W., Chiu, C., & Benet-Martinez, V. (2000). Multicultural minds: A dynamic constructivist approach to culture and cognition. American Psychologist, 55, 709-720.