- My research on culture and the self draws upon the distinction between individualistic, independent representations of the self (termed the independent self-construal), and collectivist, group-oriented representations of the self (termed the interdependent self-construal). My previous research examined the role of the self in cross-cultural adjustment (Cross, 1995) and situational influences on self-descriptions (Kanagawa, Cross, & Markus, 2001).
- Recently, Jon Gore and my Japanese collaborator, Chie Kanagawa, and I have investigated a culturally informed perspective on relational motivation and its influence on goal striving (Gore, Cross, and Kanagawa, 2006). I continue to collaborate with Dr. Kanagawa in Japan and have extended my collaborations to include researchers in Ghana, Turkey, and Taiwan.
- In these and future cross-cultural collaborations, I seek to extend our knowledge of culture’s influence on behavior and the role of the self in psychological processes. Research exploring diverse cultures and their assumptions, beliefs, values, and practices is necessary for the development of a truly global science of psychology and contributes to a better understanding of human behavior within our own society.