Prof. Yuan-Wei YAO

EDUCATION

• Ph.D. (Psychology), Freie Universität Berlin
• M.Sc. (Psychology), Beijing Normal University
• B.Sc. (Psychology), Beijing Normal University

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Decision-making (including neuroeconomics)
• Behavioral addictions (problematic social media use, internet gaming disorder, etc.)
• Internet psychology (effects of the internet and emerging technologies on cognition and behavior)
• Digital health
• Computational modeling (reinforcement learning model, drift diffusion model, etc.)
• Computational psychiatry

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Liu, L., Pang, Y. X., Song, Z. H., Chen, S. J., Han, Y. Y., & Yao, Y. W*. (2025). Computational mechanisms underlying the impact of Pavlovian bias on instrumental learning in problematic social media users. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 14, 903-913.

Buidze, T., Yao, Y. W., & Gläscher, J. (2025). Expectation violations as an effective alternative to complex mentalizing in novel communication. iScience, 28(7), 112795.

Yao, Y. W., Song, K. R., Schuck, N. W., Li, X., Fang, X. Y., Zhang, J. T., Heekeren, H. R., & Bruckner, R. (2023). The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex is involved in subjective value representation across effort-based and risky decision-making. NeuroImage, 279, 120326.

Yao, Y. W., Zhang, J. T., Fang, X. Y., Liu, L., & Potenza, M. N. (2022). Reward‐related decision‐making deficits in internet gaming disorder: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Addiction, 117, 19-32.

Lopez-Gamundi, P*., Yao, Y. W*., Chong, T. T., Heekeren, H. R., Herrero, E. M., & Pallares, J. M. (2021). The neural basis of effort valuation: A meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 131, 1275-1287.

Yao, Y. W., Liu, L., Worhunsky, P. D., Lichenstein, S., Ma, S. S., Yang, S., Zhang, J. T., & Yip, S. W. (2020). Is monetary reward processing altered in drug-naïve youth with a behavioral addiction? Findings from internet gaming disorder. NeuroImage: Clinical, 26, 102202.

RESEARCH LABORATORY

Mental health, Internet, Neuroscience & Decision-making (MIND) Lab

PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

PhD/MPhil applicants: : I am accepting PhD/MPhil students for the 2026-27 application cycle. If you are interested in joining our lab, please send me an email with your CV and a letter of motivation.
In addition to meeting the academic standards required by the admissions committee, successful candidates are expected to have:

1. Experience with experimental design;
2. Experience with at least one programming language (e.g., MATLAB, Python, etc.);
3. Excellent quantitative skills, including basic knowledge of computational modeling;
4. Experience with neuroimaging, non-invasive brain stimulation, or online experiments is desirable but not essential.

• NOTE: Our lab does not have any partnerships with agencies on social media. All admission information will be posted on our official website.

Undergraduate thesis: I am happy to supervise theses for HKU undergraduate students. Please contact me if you are interested.

Contract-based RA: There are currently no vacancy in our lab.

RESEARCH INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Our lab is accepting research interns (voluntary or credit-based). If you are interested in doing a research internship with us, please contact me.