Social Work
Member of the Big Data Network Psychology Professional Committee, Chinese Association of Social Psychology,
Outstanding Speaker for "Famous Scholars Visiting High Schools" Project of Shenzhen University
Research areas：Cognitive Neuroscience
My lab (Emotion and Communication Neuroscience Laboratory) focuses on two main research areas:
1.The spread and intervention of misinformation on social media, with research addressing four key questions:
What types of individuals are more susceptible to believing and spreading misinformation?
What kinds of misinformation are more likely to be widely shared?
How are widely spread misinformation represented in the human brain?
How can the spread of misinformation be effectively intervened?
In this area, the lab published the first neuroscience study on gossip (Social Neuroscience), and explored the role of anonymity and empathy in social media information dissemination (Cerebral Cortex). Additionally, several related studies are under review or in progress, such as using utility theory and value-based models to explain misinformation propagation.
2.The role of artificial intelligence in persuasion and attitude change, where the lab is investigating the psychological mechanisms through which generative AI influences information dissemination, exploring its impact from a psychological perspective.
Education and Work Experience
Ph.D. in Psychology, South China Normal University
M.Phil. in Psychology, the University of Hong Kong
M. Sc. in Psychology, Peking University
B.Sc. in Mathematics, Xiangtan University
UCD (User-Centered Design) Engineer, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University
Awards and Honors
National Top-Quality Online Open Course (Team Award), 2017
First Prize, Shenzhen University Teaching Achievement Award for “Optimistic Life: Lectures on Positive Psychology” (Team Award), 2017
National First-Class Undergraduate Courses, 2020
Second Prize, Guangdong Higher Education Course Ideology Case Study (Team Award), 2020
Excellent Undergraduate Course Award (Independent), Shenzhen University, 2023
Excellent Annual Performance (2020-2021, 2016-2017), Shenzhen University
Grants
1.Cognitive Neurocomputational Mechanisms and Interventions in Misinformation Spread (2024-2027, National Natural Science Foundation)
2.Impact of Anxiety on Misinformation Spread and Its Neural Mechanisms (2017-2019, National Natural Science Foundation)
3.Psychological and Neural Mechanisms of Misinformation Spread: A Big Data Approach (2016-2019, Ministry of Education)
4.Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms in Misinformation Perception (2016-2019, Guangdong Natural Science Foundation)
5.Psychological Mechanisms and Predictive Models of Online Misinformation Spread across Multi Social Media (2016-2021, Guangdong Provincial Philosophy and Social Sciences Planning Project)
6.Dynamic Brain Networks in Emotional Processing for Anxiety Disorders and Neuromodulation (2020-2023, Shenzhen Science and Technology Plan)
7.Psychological and Neural Mechanisms of Social Media’s Influence on Audience Attitudes and Behavior (2019-2022, Shenzhen University Young Faculty Research Start-Up Project)
Selected Publications
1.Cui, F., Zhong, Y., Feng, C., & Peng, X*. (2023). Anonymity in sharing morally salient news: the causal role of the temporoparietal junction. Cerebral Cortex, 33(9), 5457-5468. (Corresponding Author)
2.Peng, X., Huang, J., Liang, K., & Chi, X. (2022). The association of social emotions, perceived efficiency, transparency of the government, concerns about COVID-19, and confidence in fighting the pandemic under the week-long lockdown in Shenzhen, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(18), 11173.
3.Zhu, M., Yuan, L., Wu, Y., Chu, L., Wang, W., Zhang, H., ... & Deng, H. (2022). Simultaneous LC-MS/MS quantification of glucocorticoids, melatonin, and its metabolites in hair. Journal of Chromatography B, 1196, 123217.
4.Liao, W., Zhang, Y., Huang, X., Xu, X., & Peng, X*. (2021). “Emoji, I can feel your pain” – Neural responses to facial and emoji expressions of pain. Biological Psychology, 163, 108134. (Corresponding Author)
5.Peng, X., Lu, J., Li, L., Cao, Q., Cui, F. (2020). Three stages of perceiving consecutive moral behaviors: neurophysiological effects of agent and valence on moral judgments. Social Neuroscience, 1-12.
Teaching Experience
Undergraduate Courses:
Emotion Psychology
Positive Psychology
Advances in Emotion and Decision Making Research
Introduction to Modern Psychology
University Student Mental Health
Misinformation Intervention Research: A Persuasion and Attitude Change Perspective
The Neuroscience of Emotion and Communication
Graduate Courses:
Human Factors Psychology
Neuroscience of Emotion and Communication
Applied Psychology
Cognitive Neuroscience
Advanced Research Methods in Contemporary Psychology (Ph.D. requirement)
