Heejung Kim

Professor

Research Area

Social Psychology

Biography

Heejung Kim received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Southern California, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Stanford University. Her research interests are in cultural psychology, looking at how culture influences psychological processes to understand why and how people engage in a range of everyday behaviors, such as acting pro-environmentally, giving and seeking social support, making product choices, and interacting with others from different cultures. Her research has been funded by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation. She has served as an editor for Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, and Personality & Social Psychology Review.

Research

Heejung Kim studies how culture influences psychological processes. In particular, her research examines the influence of culture (i.e., national/regional, religious, and social class contexts) on 1) why people engage in pro-environmental actions, 2) how people carry out relationship processes, such as social support use and interpersonal power, and 3) how people express their thoughts and emotions. In addition, her research addresses how these differences shape social interactions among people from different cultural backgrounds.

Selected Publications

Kim, H. & Markus, H. R. (1999). Deviance or uniqueness, harmony or conformity: A cultural analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 785-800.

Kim, H. S. (2002). We talk, therefore we think? A cultural analysis of the effect of talking on thinking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 828-842.

Kim, H. S. & Drolet, A. (2003). Choice and self-expression: A cultural analysis of variety-seeking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 373-382.

Kim, H. S. & Sherman, D. K. (2007). "Express yourself": Culture and the effect of self-expression on choice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 1-11.

Kim, H. S. (2008). Culture and the cognitive and neuroendocrine responses to speech. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 32-47.

Kim, H. S., Sherman, D. K., & Taylor, S. E. (2008). Culture and social support. American Psychologist, 63, 518-526.

Kim, H. S, Sherman, D. K., Sasaki, J. Y., Xu, J., Chu, T. Q., Ryu, C., Suh, E. M., Graham, K., & Taylor, S. E. (2010). Culture, distress and oxytocin receptor polymorphism (OXTR) interact to influence emotional support seeking. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107, 15717-15721.

Kim, H. S. & Sasaki, J. Y. (2014). Cultural neuroscience: Biology of the mind in cultural context. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 487-514.

Eom, K., Kim, H. S., Sherman, D. K., & Ishii, K. (2016). Cultural variability in the link between environmental beliefs and support for environmental action. Psychological Science, 27, 1331-1339. 

Campos, B. & Kim, H. S. (2017). Incorporating the cultural diversity of family and close relationships into the study of health. American Psychologist, 72, 543-554.