Psychology suffers from the problem of studying a narrow database: the vast majority of psychological research is conducted on samples that are from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies. The problem is both that many psychological phenomena appear differently across cultures, and that WEIRD samples are psychological outliers on many dimensions. I will review some evidence that reveals the extent of cultural diversity in various psychological processes. In addition, I will discuss the evidence of the field’s progress, or the lack thereof, in responding to this problem. I’ll consider some of the problematic implications for the field when it relies so much on this narrow and unusual database, and how it intersects with the replicability crisis in psychology. I’ll conclude by discussing some ideas about ways that the field could move forward.
Dr. Steven J. Heine is Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Social and Cultural Psychology at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on a few topics that converge on how people come to understand themselves and the world around them. In particular, he studies how people’s cultures shape how they make sense of themselves and their worlds, how people strive to find meaning in their lives, and how people understand genetic causes. He is author of “Cultural Psychology”, the top-selling textbook in its field, and the trade book, “Start Making Sense: How Existential Psychology can Help Build Meaningful Lives in Absurd Times” (Basic Books, forthcoming 2025). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.