Research

MC³ stands for Motivated Cognition × Culture × Creativity. Our projects sit where these meet, and we bring them to real-world challenges such as climate change and sustainable living.

Motivated cognition

How motives, beliefs and mindsets shape the way we make sense of contradictions and pressures.

Culture

How multicultural experience, cosmopolitan outlooks and cultural logics shape the way we think and act.

Creativity

When and how culture, paradox and time perspective spark new ideas and social innovation.

Multicultural Experience

Culture Creativity

Where it begins

Everyday encounters

Movies from another culture
Learning new languages
Exchanging family habits

Deeper experiences

Traveling to different countries
Living in another society
Knowing an intercultural family

A double-edged sword

+Opens up new perspectives

−Can threaten identity

Openness and security are key.

What it benefits

Creative thinking

Considering new perspectives
Combining ideas from other cultures
Open-mindedness helps

Green consumption

Belonging with others
Showcasing distinctiveness
Accepting novel food technologies

Related studies

Dai, X., & Leung, A. K.-y. (2025). Building cosmopolitanism from a secure base: Lifetime spent in home country and cultural attachment moderate the link between multicultural experience and cosmopolitan orientation. Asian Journal of Social Psychology. DOI
Dai, X., Leung, A. K.-y., & Chong, M. (2024). The link between people’s social perceptions of cultivated meat eaters and their acceptance of cultivated meat. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 27(3), 473–486. DOI
Leung, A. K.-y., Maddux, W. W., Galinsky, A. D., & Chiu, C.-y. (2008). Multicultural experience enhances creativity: The when and how. American Psychologist, 63(3), 169–181. DOI

Paradox Mindset

Motivated cognition Creativity

How it starts

Paradoxical tension

Contradictory elements
Undecidable and incompatible
Salient under resource scarcity

Examples

Educational paradoxes

Assessment: quantity vs. quality
Instruction: integration vs. differentiation

What it is

Paradox mindset

Energised by tension
Sees tension as an opportunity for innovation

Benefits

Creativity

Innovative work
Creativity tasks

Related studies

Huang, T., Dai, X., Cheng, C.-Y., & Leung, A. K.-y. (2026). Paradox mindset in working parenthood: Linking dual-role enrichment to pursuit, success, and satisfaction. Current Psychology, 45(3), 231. DOI
Leung, A. K.-y., Liou, S., Miron-Spektor, E., Koh, B., Chan, D., Eisenberg, R., & Schneider, I. (2018). Middle ground approach to paradox: Within- and between-culture examination of the creative benefits of paradoxical frames. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(3), 443–464. DOI

Where we apply it

Climate Change & Sustainable Living

Sustainable living Culture

We asked

Does learning about nature make people feel closer to it?

What we found

Yes. Learning about nature builds a sense of connection with it, and feeling awe is part of the reason.

Ng, Leung & Chan, 2023

We asked

Does a global outlook go together with caring for the planet?

What we found

Yes. People with a more cosmopolitan orientation are more likely to act in environmentally friendly ways.

Leung, Koh & Tam, 2015

We asked

What makes people open to eating cultivated meat?

What we found

How it is framed and named matters, and so does how much people dislike “tampering with nature”. People with higher well-being are also more receptive.

Chong et al., 2023; Leung et al., 2023

Related studies

Ng, S. T., Leung, A. K.-y., & Chan, S. H. M. (2023). Through the lens of a naturalist: How learning about nature promotes nature connectedness via awe. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 92, 102069. DOI
Leung, A. K.-y., Koh, K., & Tam, K.-P. (2015). Being environmentally responsible: Cosmopolitan orientation predicts pro-environmental behaviors. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 43, 79–94. DOI
Chong, M., Leung, A. K.-y., Fernandez, T. M., & Ng, S. T. (2023). Effects of framing, nomenclature, and aversion to tampering with nature on consumer acceptance of cultivated meat in Singapore. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 91, 102140. DOI