Areas of Expertise
Mengzhen's expertise lies in undergraduate psychology teaching, conducting research in the field of social psychology, and public speaking on social psychology subjects.
Teaching Interests
Introduction to Psychology, Social Psychology, Political Psychology, Research Methodology, and Psychology topics related to Romantic Relationships, Sexuality, Society 5.0, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning, Dishonesty, Corruption, Irrationality.
Research
Social Psychology knowledge can effectively address real-life social problems, although it is often undervalued. Mengzhen’s research examines social issues from a social psychology perspective.
Mengzhen’s three main research themes are:
(i) dishonesty, encompassing bribery and corruption;
(ii) cross-cultural social interaction, including romantic relationships and attitudes towards sexually explicit content;
(iii) human-computer interaction, investigating whether avatars enhance engagement in video conferences.
In his research, Mengzhen employed the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Theory of Social Representation. His expertise spans qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodologies, employing software such as JASP, SPSS, Taguette, IRAMUTEQ, and Qualtrics.
Representative Publications
- Mengzhen, L., Berezina, E. & Benjamin, J. (2024) Insights into Young Adults’ Views on Long-term and Short-term Romantic Relationships in the United Kingdom. Sexuality & Culture. DOI
- Mengzhen, L., Wu, S. L., Yap, C. C., Low, K. S., & Tan, Y. T. (2024). The decline in intentions to stop watching pornography among young adults. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 1-18, DOI
- Mengzhen, L., Lim, D.H.J., Berezina, E., Benjamin, J. (2023) Navigating Love in a Post-Pandemic World: Understanding Young Adults’ Views on Short- and Long-Term Romantic Relationships. Arch Sex Behav. DOI
- Mengzhen, L., Sin, Y., Wan Jaafar, W. M., Mohd Khir, A., Hamsan, H. H., Yong, M. H., ... & Ong, C. S. (2022). Curbing Bribe-Giving in Malaysia: The Role of Attitudes and Parents. Public Integrity, 1-15.
- Mengzhen, L. (2022) Corruption and bribe-giving factors among young adults in Malaysia. Doctoral thesis, Universiti Putra Malaysia.
- Mengzhen, L., & Berezina, E. (2022) An exploratory study on the social representation of long and short-term romantic relationship among Japanese. In Conference Proceedings from the International Conference on Student-led Research and Innovation in Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (p. 44).
- Mengzhen, L., (2017). Factors related to intention to stop pornography viewing among Malaysian youth Facebook users (Master’s thesis repository). Universiti Putra Malaysia .
Education
PhD, Social Psychology, University Putra Malaysia
Previous Appointments
Sunway University
Professional Associations
Youth Initiative Committee, World Association for Sexual Health (WAS)
Chapters in Books
- Mengzhen, L., & Yap, G. (Eds.). (2022). Mending Hearts: Healing from Separation and Loss, a Collection of True Stories. Sunway University Press.