Psychological and Cultural Foundations of East Asian Cognition

The unprecedented economic growth in many East Asian societies in the few past decades have placed the region center stage, and increasing globalization has made East-West cultural understanding of even greater importance today. The Psychological and Cultural Foundations of East Asian Cognition is one of the most comprehensive volumes on East Asian cognition and thinking styles to date, and is one of the first to bring together a large body of empirical research on naïve dialecticism and analytic/holistic thinking theories stemming from Richard Nisbett's highly influential The Geography of Thought. Edited by Julie Spencer-Rodgers and Kaiping Peng, The Psychological and Cultural Foundations of East Asian Cognition expertly examines the psychological, philosophical, and cultural underpinnings and consequences of these thinking theories for human thought, emotion, and behavior. In the past couple of decades, research on this topic has flourished, and East-West cultural differences have been documented in almost all aspects of the human condition, from the manner in which people reason and make decisions, conceptualize themselves and those around them, to how they cope with stress and mental illness, and interact with others, including romantic partners and social groups. Contributions to this volume cover such fascinating and diverse topics as cultural neuroscience and the brain, lifespan development, attitudes and group perception, romantic relationships, the adoption of foreign mindsets and perspectives, creativity, emotion, the self-concept, racial and ethnic identity, psychopathology, and coping processes and wellbeing. Further, the research featured within this volume has practical implications for business and organizational management, international relations and politics, education, and clinical and counseling psychology, and may be of particular interest to business professionals, managers in government and non-profit sectors, as well as educators and clinicians working with East Asians and Americans of East Asian descent.

Julie Spencer-Rodgers graduated from UC Berkeley and is an Associate Professor at the Dept. of Psychology at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She was awarded the Early Career Award from the International Academy of Intercultural Research and the Otto Klineberg Intercultural and International Relations Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, of which she is a Fellow. Kaiping Peng graduated from the University of Michigan, and is the founding Chair of the Psychology Department at Tsinghua University, and an emeritus professor of the University of California, Berkeley. He is one of the most highly cited social psychologists (APS Observer) and is the author of over 140 articles and several monographs.