Kuang, J., & Bicchieri. (2026) The Interpretation of social norm messages: Ambiguity and pragmatic inference. Accepted at Behavioural Public Policy

LLMs and norms

Rai, S.*, Kuang, J.*, Jamalova, R., Lou, A., Sehgal, N. K. R., Bicchieri, C., Malhotra, N., Orozco-Olvera, V. H., Munoz-Boudet, A. M., Ungar, L. H., & Guntuku, S. C. (2026). Beyond right and wrong: Evaluating second-order social reasoning in large language models. Forthcoming at NeurIPS [preprint]

*Equal contribution

Norm inference and statistical intuition

Kuang, J., & Dannals, J. (2026). The different psychologies of mode and mean in social norm perception. Academy of Management Proceedings. 2026 (1). https://doi.org/10.5465/AMPROC.2026.34bp 

Top 10% submission

Descriptive-normative inference

Kuang, J., Brockbank, E., Bicchieri, C., & Hawkins, R. (2026). Inferring joint commitment from observed coordination. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 48. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/210800gr

Norm inference and language

Kuang, J., & Bicchieri, C. (2024). How language framing shapes the perception of social norms. Current Opinion in Psychology, 60, 101886. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2024.101886 

Kuang, J., & Bicchieri, C. (2024). Language matters: How normative expressions shape norm perception and affect norm compliance. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 379 (1897), 20230037. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0037 

Ashraf, S., Kuang, J., Das, U., Shpenev, A., and Bicchieri, C. (2022). Social beliefs and women’s role in sanitation decision making in Bihar, India: an exploratory mixed method study. PLoS One. 17(1):e0262643. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262643

Das, U., Kuang, J., Ashraf, S., Sphenev, A., and Bicchieri, C. (2022). Women as Pioneers: Examining Their Role in Decision Making on Toilet Construction in India. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/19452829.2022.2111410

Ashraf, S., Bicchieri, C., Delea, M. G., Das, U., Chauhan, K., Kuang, J., Shpenev, A., and Thulin, E. (2021). Norms and social network–centric behavior change intervention (Nam Nalavazhvu) for improved toilet usage in peri-urban communities of Tamil Nadu: protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocol. 10(5). https://doi.org/10.2196/24407

Kuang, J., Delea, M. G., Thulin, E., and Bicchieri, C. (2020). Do descriptive norms messaging interventions backfire? Protocol for a systematic review of the boomerang effect. Systematic Reviews, 9(1), 267. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-01533-0

Kuang, J., Ashraf, S., Shpenev, A., Delea, M. G., Das, U., and Bicchieri, C. (2020). Women are more likely to expect social sanctions for open defecation: Evidence from Tamil Nadu India. PLoS One. 15(10):e0240477. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240477 

Kuang, J., Ashraf, S., Das, U., and Bicchieri, C. (2020). Awareness, Risk Perception, and Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Communities of Tamil Nadu, India. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17(19): 7177. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197177 

Ashraf, S., Kuang, J., Das, U., and Bicchieri, C. (2020). Sanitation Practices during Early Phases of COVID-19 Lockdown in Peri-Urban Communities in Tamil Nadu, India. The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 103(5): 4. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0830

Kuang, J., Thulin, E., Delea, M. G., Ashraf, S., Das, U., Shpenev, A., McNally, P., and Bicchieri, C. (2020). Bias in the Perceived Prevalence of Open Defecation: Evidence from Bihar, India. PLoS One. 15(9): e0238627. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238627

Ashraf, S., Das, U., Kohler, H.P., Kuang, J., McNally, P., Shpenev, A., Thulin, E., and Bicchieri, C. (2018). Phase 1 Project Report. Social Networks and Norms in India. Penn Social Norms Group (PennSoNG). https://repository.upenn.edu/pennsong/16

Ashraf, S., Das, U., Kohler, H.P., Kuang, J., McNally, P., Shpenev, A., Thulin, E., and Bicchieri, C. (2019). Phase 2 Project Report. Social Networks and Norms in India. Penn Social Norms Group (PennSoNG). https://repository.upenn.edu/pennsong/17

Hur, J., Smith, J. F., DeYoung, K. A., Anderson, A. S., Kuang, J., Kim, H. C., Tillman, R. M., Kuhn, M., Fox, A. S., and Shackman, A. J. (2020). Anxiety and the neurobiology of temporally uncertain threat anticipation. Journal of Neuroscience. 40, 7949-7964. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0704-20.2020

Kuang, J., Milhorn, H., Stuppy-Sullivan, A., Jung, S., Yi, R. (2018). Alternate Versions of a Fixed-Choice, Delay-Discounting Assessment for Repeated-Measures Designs. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 26(5), 503-508. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pha0000211 

Borges, A.M., Kuang, J., Milhorn, H., Yi, R. (2016). An alternative approach to calculating Area-Under-the-Curve (AUC) in delay discounting research. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 106(2), 145-155. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeab.219