Personality, Values, Culture: An Evolutionary Approach (Culture and Psychology)

by Ronald Fischer

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Author: Ronald Fischer

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 1107451930
ISBN 13: 978-1107451933

Hardcover:
ISBN 10: 1107087155
ISBN 13: 978-1107087156

Humans are complex social beings. To understand human behaviour, an integrated perspective is required - one which considers both what we regularly do (our personality traits) and what motivates us (our values). Personality, Values, Culture uses an evolutionary perspective to look at the similarities and differences in personality and values across modern societies. Integrating research on personality and human values into a functional framework that highlights their underlying compatibilities (driven by shared genetic and brain mechanisms), Fischer describes how personality is shaped by the complex interplay between genes and the environment, both over the course of human evolution and within the lifespan of individuals. He proposes a gene-culture coevolution model of personality and values to explain how and why people differ around the world and how genes, economics, social conditions, and climate jointly shape personality.

Review

'Personality traits and value orientations have been studied in separation. Ronald Fischer overcomes this separation and demonstrates convincingly how much these two strands of scholarship can learn from each other. He synthesizes a vast multi-disciplinary literature in a most competent way. This book is a new classic in cross-cultural psychology.' Christian Welzel, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Germany

'Ronald Fischer, a giant in the field of cross-cultural psychology, has produced an intellectual masterpiece. Drawing on fields as diverse as genetics, neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology, he provides a marvelous integration of research on personality, values and culture, tackling age-old questions and identifying new frontiers along the way. This book is a must for anyone interested in understanding human behavior.' Michele J. Gelfand, University of Maryland

'This is a rich and erudite work that covers key concepts in the history of psychological thought and supports the author's arguments regarding a model of gene-culture coevolution. Psychologists, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates interested in personality, culture, and evolutionary psychology will want to read this book.' D. S. Dunn, Choice

Book Description

Using evolutionary psychology, Fischer develops a holistic model of personality that includes both what we do (our personality traits) and what motivates us (our values). This model is used to explain how and why people differ around the world and how genes, economics, social conditions, and climate jointly shape personality.

About the Author

Ronald Fischer is a Reader at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He is Associate Editor of Applied Psychology: An International Review, and serves on the editorial boards of a number of psychology and business journals. He has published more than 100 articles in psychology and related disciplines. He co-authored the second edition of Understanding Social Psychology across Cultures (2013) and has received a number of awards and prizes, including the Otto Klineberg Intercultural and International Relations Award, the Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Award, and the Best Paper with International Application Award from the Academy of Management.