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Cross-Cultural Variation

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Synonyms

Cultural differences; Cultural heterogeneity; Multi-cultural

Definition

Cultural variation is the degree that one culture differs from another on any continuum of comparison. It is best to think of these continuums as ranges of behavior; i.e., no one culture or person exclusively exhibits one end of the continuum. Variations may exist on any number of levels.

Introduction

Defining culture is a complicated endeavor given its variation across domains and purpose, which is embodied within a historical context. Roseberry-McKibbin (2007) defines culture as, “Simply, culture is a dynamic set of values and belief systems that shape the behavior of individuals from various groups and communities” (p. 104). Hence, culture shapes how people live, interact, and interpret the world around them as well as what people value. For example, one culture may value independence and autonomy, while another values dependence and cooperation. Culture or shared patterns of behaviors, thoughts,...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of South Florida St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, FL, USA

    Alejandro Brice

Authors
  1. Alejandro Brice
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alejandro Brice .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Psychology Department, University of Redlands, Redlands, CA, USA

    Jessica Hehman

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Brice, A. (2020). Cross-Cultural Variation. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2607-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2607-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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