Felix Cheung

Assistant Professor
Downtown Toronto (St. George)

Campus

Fields of Study

Areas of Interest

  • Population determinants of a satisfying, purposeful, and engaging life; 
  • Income inequality, income redistribution, and income mobility; 
  • Social unrest, terrorism, and civil war; 
  • Major population events;
  • Replication, Open science, and Meta-science

Biography

Dr. Cheung received his B.A. in Psychology from UCLA and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology from Michigan State University. Before joining the University of Toronto, Dr. Cheung was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis and a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong's School of Public Health.

Dr. Cheung has two main lines of research. The first line of research examines the determinants and consequences of subjective well-being across diverse populations, with a focus on addressing pressing global issues (e.g., sociopolitical unrest, income inequality, and terrorism). His studies involve over 4 million participants based on large international datasets (e.g., Gallup World Poll) as well as diverse representative samples of participants (e.g., Syrians living in Syria during the civil war). The second line of research focuses on meta-science (the scientific study of science) and examines how the reliability of scientific findings can be potentially improved by 'Big Science' (i.e., studies done by large collaborative teams), open science practices (e.g., pre-registration and data sharing), and research incentives. Together, these two lines of research seek to promote population well-being based on sound empirical research. Dr. Cheung was named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science.