Complementarity Theory: Why Human Social Capacities Evolved to Require Cultural Complements

The myth of individualism-collectivism: a critical review

The authors critically assess the dimension of individualism-collectivism (I-C) and its various uses in cross-cultural psychology. They argue that I-C research is characterized largely by insufficient conceptual clarity and a lack of systematic data. As a result, they call into question the utility of I-C as an explanatory tool for cultural variation in behavior, suggest alternative dimensions for cross-cultural research, and interpret the weaknesses of research on I-C as illustrative of a general trend in social psychology.

Evolutionary psychology: toward a unifying theory and a hybrid science

Although evolutionary psychology is typically associated with "selfish gene theory," numerous other approaches to the study of mind and behavior provide a wealth of concepts for theorizing about psychology, culture, and development. These include general evolutionary approaches and theories focused on sociality, dual inheritance, multilevel selection, and developmental systems. Most evolutionary accounts use the same methods as Darwin-the "fit among facts"-to use natural selection as an explanation for behavior. Scientific standards for constraining and evaluating such accounts, research into the mutual influence of science and society on the understanding of evolution, and computational technologies for modeling species-typical processes are important considerations. Coevolutionary theories and developmental systems theories may eventually give rise to unification in a broad and general sense. Such a unification would be interdisciplinary and problem centered rather than discipline centered.

Cultural variation: considerations and implications

Cultural systems vary widely across the world. Partly this is due to different cultures' occupying different ecological and environmental niches. But partly it is due to similar circumstances giving rise to multiple stable equilibriums, each with a distinct cultural form. Using insights and examples from various fields, this article illustrates the way that multiple equilibriums can emerge and the forces that push a culture toward one equilibrium point or another. Considerations of game theory principles, mutual interdependence, historical circumstance, dependence on initial conditions, and crucial choice points are highlighted in discussing the ways humans create and re-create their culture. Cultural traits develop within physical, social, intracultural, and intercultural niches, and implications of this for how culture might be studied and the benefits of combining an "equilibrium" perspective and a "meaning" perspective are discussed.