
Welcome to the Culture and Cognition Lab!
We try to understand how the sociocultural world and the mind make each other up to influence various facets of psychological function including cognition, emotion, motivation, the self, and health. We have used a wide array of methods including behavioral and neural measures as well as genetic and epigenetic indicators.
Click here for an overview of our lab
Click here for a lecture:
Cultural Neuroscience: Linking Context to Genes and the Brain, Part I and Part II
Cultural Neuroscience: Linking Context to Genes and the Brain, Part I and Part II
Research Themes
They converge to contribute to a long-standing program of research on the interface between socio-cultural processes and mentality.
Please click the links below to learn more about each of these research areas.
People

Shinobu Kitayama
Principal Investigator; Robert B. Zajonc Collegiate Professor of Psychology
Our most recent work examines, among others, the self, cognition and emotion, norm psychology, and varieties of interdependence across the globe, with behavioral, neuroendocrine, neuroscience, and genetic and epigenetic methods.
CV | Scholar | Email

Cristina Salvador
Graduate Student
The overarching goal of my research is to understand how culture interfaces with biology to influence our thinking, feeling, and behavior. To pursue this overarching research agenda, I have examined (i) the psychological mechanisms linked to interdependence in cultures outside of East Asia, (ii) how deeply culture influences spontaneous self-referential thought, and (iii) cultural influences on norms and their impact on recent societal trends.
CV | Scholar | Email

Irene Melani
Graduate Student
My research interests revolve broadly around understanding why and how cultural differences exist and manifest. Specifically, I am interested in the mechanisms underlying cultural variations in cognition and the ways individuals organize themselves within groups.
Email

Tong Suo
Graduate Student
My research interests revolve around the sense of self across time, namely autobiographical memory
and future thinking, in-cultural contexts. In particular, I’m interested in how cultures influence people
narrate and relate to their past and future selves, and the various outcomes (e.g., psychological
wellbeing) of this subjective experience.
Email

Yuyan Han
Graduate Student
My research interest generally lies in judgment and decision making, culture, and emotion. Currently, I am investigating how rational reasoning on individual level can aggregate to biases on collective level.
Email

Sakura Takahashi
Graduate Student
I am interested in the methods that people use to control their emotions, both internally (e.g. cognitive reappraisal) and externally (e.g. substance use). I am hoping to explore differences in how people use these strategies across cultures.
Email

Amelie Rossmaier
Visiting Graduate Student
My research interests revolve around culture and group dynamics. Specifically, I am focusing on how culture influences our motivation to conform and to trust in norms.
Email
Lab Affiliates
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RICHARD NISBETTUniversity of Michigan | Website | Email |
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HAZEL R. MARKUSStanford University | Website | Email |
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ERIC IGOUUniversity of Limerick, Ireland | Website | Email |
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MAYUMI KARASAWATokyo Women's Christian University | Website | Email |
JOSE ALBERTO REYESDe La Salle University, The Philippines | Website |
Alumni
Heykyung Park

Hide Hitokoto
Fukuoka University
Saori Tsukamoto
Nagoya UniversityAriana McNulty

Aya Kamikubo
Website Artist

Tseng-Ping Chiu
National Cheng Kung University, TaiwanWebsite | Email