Brandon Ng

Assistant Professor

Offices, Departments, or Centers: Psychology ,

Dr. Ng completed his PhD in social psychology at the University of Virginia, and he earned his undergraduate degree in psychology and English literature, with a minor in economics, at Northwestern University. His research implements a cultural and social psychological approach to understand the psychosocial mechanisms that engender pain disparities. Specifically, he is interested in how racial bias, stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination influence how others’ pain is perceived, as well as how contending with these factors exacerbates the pain experience for members of underserved and stigmatized groups.

Education and Degrees

PhD, University of Virginia, 2017
MA, University of Virginia, 2013
BA (Honors), Northwestern University, 2011

Selected Publications

Giner-Sorolla, R.S., Montoya, A.K., Aberson, C.L., Carpenter, T., Lewis, N.A., Bostyn, D.,
Conrique, B.G., Ng, B.W., Reifman, A., Schoeman, A.M., & Soderberg, C.
(2024). Power to Detect What? Considerations for Planning and Evaluating Sample Size. Personality and Social Psychology Review.

Boring, B.L., Walsh, K.T., Ng, B.W., Schlegel, R.J., & Mathur, V.A. (2024). Experiencing
Pain Invalidation Is Associated with the Under-Reporting of Pain: A Psychosocial Perspective on Pain Communication. The Journal of Pain

Boring, B.L., Ng, B.W., Nanavaty, N., & Mathur, V.A. (2022). Over-Rating Pain is
Overrated. The Self-Other Bias in Pain Reporting Behavior. The Journal of Pain,
23, 1779-1789.

Boring, B.L., Walsh, K.T., Nanavaty, N., Ng, B.W., & Mathur, V.A. (2021). How and why do
patient concerns influence pain reporting?: A qualitative analysis of personal accounts and perceptions of others’ use of numerical pain scales. Frontiers in Psychology.

Mendu, S., Baglione, A., Baee, S., Wu, C., Ng, B., Shaked, A., Clore, G., Boukhechba, M., &
Barnes, L. (2020). A Framework for Understanding the Relationship between Social Media Discourse and Mental Health. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 4(CSCW2), 1-23.

Oishi, S., Choi, H., Galinha, I. Ishii, K.,….Ng, B.W., Kurtz, J.& Besser, L.L. (2020).
Happiness, meaning, and psychological richness. Affective Science, 1, 107-115..

Ng, B.W., Nanavaty, N., & Mathur, V.A. (2019). The Influence of Latinx American Identity
on Pain Perception and Treatment Seeking. Journal of Pain Research, 12, 3025-3035.

Oishi, S., Choi, H., Heintzelman, S.J., Kushlev, K., Westgate, E.C., Buttrick, N.R., Tucker, J.,
Ebersole, C.R., Axt, J., Gilbert, E., Ng, B.W., & Besser, L.L. (2019).
The Psychologically Rich Life Scale, Journal of Research in Personality, 81, 257-270.

Ng, B.W., & Oishi, S. (2016). Bringing Socioecological Psychology to the Forefront:
Dynamic Variation in the Relationship between Environmental Shock and Impulsivity
as a Function of Subsistence Regime. Current Anthropology, 57, 647-648.

Ng, B.W., Morris, J.P., & Oishi, S. (2013). Cultural Neuroscience: The Current State of Affairs. Psychological Inquiry, 24, 53-57.

In the News

PsyPost: “Psychologists Discover Evidence of a Fundamental Pain Bias”

BBC Future: “How an Objective Measure of Pain Could Counter Bias in Medicine”

MIC: “Pearson Issues Apology for Publishing Racist Theories About Treating Pain in Nursing Textbook”