Hunter Cheng

Ph.D. student
Hunter Cheng
he, him, they, them

Summary

Hunter (he/they) is a doctoral student in the Interdisciplinary Social Psychology Ph.D. Program. His research interests center on identity processes (identity work, negotiation, salience, socialization), social group dynamics (prototypicality, perceptions of ingroup vs. outgroup), and inequality (prejudice, discrimination, stigma). Their current research focuses on the intersectional experiences of multiple minority groups (e.g., queer people of color, autistic trans people) and "gray area" identities (e.g., individuals with "invisible" disabilities), utilizing frameworks from critical cultural studies such as critical disability studies and queer theory.

Publications

Brown, M., Cheng, H.S., Smith, P., Strang, J.F., & de Marchena, A. (2026). Gender differences in nonverbal communication barriers among autistic adults. Autism in Adulthood. https://doi.org/10.1177/25739581261467976

Fellowships

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2025 - 2030

Education

M.A. in Social Sciences, University of Chicago, 2026; B.S. in Psychology, Drexel University, 2025