Culture and Psychology

by David Matsumoto, Linda Juang

This market-leading text puts psychological theories and concepts into a cross-cultural framework that invites you to discover, question, and ultimately, understand the relationship between culture and psychology. Along the way, you'll explore topics like changing gender roles, sexuality, self-esteem, aggression, personality, and mate selection. It all adds up to a text that will leave you with a deeper, more complex understanding of the nature of culture, its relationship to psychological processes, and the differences and similarities between cultures in our increasingly globalized world.

Genres: Psychology, School, Textbooks

544 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1996

About the author

David Matsumoto (born August 2, 1959) is an author, psychologist and judoka. His areas of expertise include culture, emotion, facial expressions, nonverbal behavior and microexpressions. He has published over 400 articles, manuscripts, book chapters and books on these subjects. Matsumoto is a professor at San Francisco State University and also the director of Humintell - a company that provides "unique training in the fields of facial expression of emotion, nonverbal behavior, detecting deception and cultural adaptation." In addition, he is an 8th degree black belt in judo and the founder and program advisor of the East Bay Judo Institute in El Cerrito, California. He was most recently inducted into the 2021 United States Judo Federation (USJF) Hall of Fame which acknowledges outstanding judoka who have made significant contributions to the sport of judo.

Reviews

[Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview of my future career! It could get a bit repetitive and dry at points (especially when listing studies). But I do not think that could have been avoided. I learned a lot and was surprised constantly at how complex psychology can become (even more than usual) when applied across different culture. Very cool. PLUS, I discovered that I share my last name with a psychologist in the book, who is from Texas. That's neat.

[Mikaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A social psychology textbook that objectively covers not only Western society but also Asian. The book is easy to read and informative, structured and analytical. However, some aspects are easier understood contextually and experientially, especially the comparison of cultures and social differences.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

I taught my Cross-Cultural Psychology class using this book and it was such an incredible support!! The book is very well written, easy to follow, and uses a variety of empirical sources from all over the world (which is critical for cross-cultural classes).

Improvements: I was interested in more international work and empirical sources. The book could have improved on/updated some of it’s language around gender/sexual orientation. For example, they continued to use “men and women” or “her and his” instead of alternatives (i.e., people, their). I hope this will come with the updated version of the textbook.

[Monty Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covers social-psychological issues in various cultures, addressing biases in upbringing, which affects the plasticity of development inclusive of gender and social roles.
Everyone should read books such as these to better grasp an understanding in individuals inclusive of all cultural backdrop.

[Hey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only book I read in full during my studies at University. Mostly because it was my first semester and I thought that was the expectation.

Oh well, at least it was an easy read with lots of informative studies summarised well. 😊

[Lasynda Shichiroji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy to read through considering it is a textbook.

[Garrett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unnecessarily wordy. Often vague in descriptions.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great information, just too wordy.

[Alisha Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Culture & Psychology (5th)
Series: -
Author: David Matsumoto & Linda Juang
Genre: Educational/ Psychology
Rating: 3 stars

This text is mostly factual - yes, that is generally the use of a textbook, but in this case, the facts are over-bearing.

The glossary throughout the text is actually the most useful (and interesting) part of this text.

[Tina]

just started it, but so far so good...will let you know as I get further into the text.

[Rui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Students book, that reinforce Hofstede's theory. It's not original but is complete.

[Latasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the driest textbook I have read about cultural psychology.

[Dvyne Rhaynebeau Butterfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book boring no ass. Seriously, this book bored me to death, placed me to sleep at all times.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

I agree with others that say this book is very dull. Definition after definition.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent textbook! The material presented is thought provoking and informative. Plus points I had an awesome professor that made this class (Psychological Anthropology) fantastic! :D