Books
Heine, S. J. (2025). Start Making Sense: How Existential Psychology can Help us Build Meaningful Lives in Absurd Times. New York: Basic Books.
A “beautiful, deep, thoughtful” (Angela Duckworth, New York Times-bestselling author of Grit) investigation into the science of why we crave meaning—and how we can pursue it in this age of anxiety
These days everyone feels on edge, panicked by climate change, political polarization, and artificial intelligence.
In Start Making Sense, psychologist Steven J. Heine shows how to overcome our angst and live life with purpose. Heine’s field, existential psychology, uses the tools of science to study the kinds of questions famously asked by existential philosophers such as Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir. Who are we? Why do we seek meaning? How do we connect with one another? Drawing on decades of research, Heine provides scientifically grounded answers to these mysteries. He shows that humans evolved to seek meaning: our survival depends on our ability to make sense of an absurd world. Every day, we deploy an arsenal of psychological tactics to make and maintain meaning in our lives, from rationalizing our choices, to waxing nostalgic about the past, to defending our cultural worldviews. By understanding why and how we seek to make sense, we can live authentic lives in times that don’t seem to make sense at all.
This illuminating book transforms the way we understand our search for meaning and provides a blueprint for building a better life.
Heine, S. J. (2017). DNA is Not Destiny: The Remarkable, Completely Misunderstood Relationship between You and Your Genes. New York: Norton.
“[An] important book.… Heine’s vibrant writing makes it come alive with personal significance for every reader.”—Carol Dweck, author of Mindset
Scientists expect one billion people to have their genomes sequenced by 2025. Yet cultural psychologist Steven J. Heine argues that, in trying to know who we are and where we come from, we’re likely to completely misinterpret what’s “in our DNA.” Heine’s fresh, surprising conclusions about the promise, and limits, of genetic engineering and DNA testing upend conventional thinking and reveal a simple, profound truth: your genes create life—but they do not control it.
Heine, S.J. (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020). Cultural Psychology: First, Second, Third, and Fourth Edition. New York: Norton.
The most contemporary and relevant introduction to the field, Cultural Psychology, Fourth Edition, is unmatched in both its presentation of current, global experimental research and its focus on helping students to think like cultural psychologists.
Gazzaniga, M.S., Heatherton, T.F., Halpern, D., & Heine, S.J. (2007, 2010). Psychological Science: Second and Third Canadian Edition. New York: Norton.
Psychological Science , Third Canadian Edition, combines foundational topics with groundbreaking current research to capture the excitement of 21st-century psychology. Overseen by internationally recognized cognitive neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga, Psychological Science offers a global perspective on the field, introducing students to the best research from around the world. The book is also tailor-made for Canadian students, drawing frequently on Canadian examples, cultural references, and statistics to demonstrate how psychology applies to everyday life. This edition introduces a dynamic learning system, crafted by Diane Halpern, that employs innovative pedagogy and visuals to engage readers and stimulate active learning.
Schaller, M., Norenzayan, A., Heine, S. J., Kameda, T., & Yamagishi, T. (Eds.). (2009). Evolution, culture, and the human mind. New York: Erlbaum.
An enormous amount of scientific research compels two fundamental conclusions about the human mind: The mind is the product of evolution; and the mind is shaped by culture. These two perspectives on the human mind are not incompatible, but, until recently, their compatibility has resisted rigorous scholarly inquiry. Evolutionary psychology documents many ways in which genetic adaptations govern the operations of the human mind. But evolutionary inquiries only occasionally grapple seriously with questions about human culture and cross-cultural differences. By contrast, cultural psychology documents many ways in which thought and behavior are shaped by different cultural experiences. But cultural inquires rarely consider evolutionary processes. Even after decades of intensive research, these two perspectives on human psychology have remained largely divorced from each other. But that is now changing – and that is what this book is about.
Evolution, Culture, and the Human Mind is the first scholarly book to integrate evolutionary and cultural perspectives on human psychology. The contributors include world-renowned evolutionary, cultural, social, and cognitive psychologists. These chapters reveal many novel insights linking human evolution to both human cognition and human culture – including the evolutionary origins of cross-cultural differences. The result is a stimulating introduction to an emerging integrative perspective on human nature.
Book Chapters
Heine, S. J., & Mask, M. (in press). The cultural pursuit of meaning. In K. Vail, D. Van Tongeren, B. Schegel, J. Greenberg, L. King, & R. Ryan (Eds)., Handbook of the Science of Existential Psychology.
Heine, S. J. (2019). Cultural psychology. In R. F. Baumeister & E. Finkel (Eds.), Advanced Social Psychology, 2nd edition (pp. 399-430). New York: Oxford University Press. Full Text
*Schmalor, A., & Heine, S. J. (2018). In genes we trust: On the consequences of genetic essentialism. In B. Rutjens & M. Brandt (Eds.), Belief systems and the perception of reality, (pp. 138-152). London, UK: Routledge. Full Text
Heine, S. J. (2010). Cultural psychology. In R. F. Baumeister & E. Finkel (Eds.), Advanced Social Psychology (pp. 655-696). New York: Oxford University Press.Full text
Heine, S. J. (2010). Cultural psychology. In D. T. Gilbert, S. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook of Social Psychology (5th Edition), (pp. 1423-1464). New York: Wiley. Full Text
Norenzayan, A., Schaller, M., & Heine, S. J. (2009). Introduction. In Schaller, M., Norenzayan, A., Heine, S. J., Kameda, T., & Yamagishi, T. (Eds.). Evolution, Culture, and the Human Mind. New York: Erlbaum.
*Hamamura, T., & Heine, S. J . (2008). Approach and avoidance motivations across cultures. In A. J. Elliot (Ed.), Handbook of approach and avoidance motivations (pp. 557-570). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Full text
*Hamamura, T., & Heine, S.J. (2008). Self-enhancement, self-improvement, and face among Japanese. In E. C. Chang (Ed.), Self-Criticism and Self-Enhancement: Theory, Research, and Clinical Implications, (pp. 105-122). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Full text
*Buchtel, E. E. & Heine, S. J. (2007). Cultural Psychology. In Encyclopedia of Law and Society: American and Global Perspectives (Section IX) (pp. 363-367) . Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Full text
Heine, S. J. (2007). Culture and motivation. In S. Kitayama & D. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of Cultural Psychology (pp. 714-733). New York: Guilford. Full text
Norenzayan, A., Schaller, M., & Heine, S.J. (2006). Evolution and culture. In M. Schaller, J.A. Simpson, & D.T. Kenrick, (Eds.), Evolution and Social Psychology (pp. 343-366). New York: Psychology Press. Full text
Heine, S. J. (2005). Constructing good selves in Japan and North America. In R. M. Sorrentino, D. Cohen, J. M. Olson, and M. P. Zanna (Eds.), Culture and Social Behavior: The Tenth Ontario Symposium (pp. 115-143). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Full text
Heine, S. J., & Lehman, D. R. (2004). Move the body, change the self: Acculturative effects on the self-concept. In M. Schaller & C. Crandall (Eds.), Psychological Foundations of Culture (pp. 305-331). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Full text
Heine, S. J. (2003). An exploration of cultural variation in self-enhancing and self-improving motivations. In V. Murphy-Berman & J. J. Berman (Eds.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Vol. 49. Cross-cultural differences in perspectives on the self (pp. 101-128). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Full text
*Ryder, A. G., Yang, J., & Heine, S. J. (2002). Somatization vs. psychologization of emotional distress: A paradigmatic example for cultural psychopathology. In W. J. Lonner, D. L. Dinnel, S. A. Hayes, & D. N. Sattler (Eds.), Online Readings in Psychology and Culture (Unit 9, Chapter 3), (http://www.wwu.edu/~culture), Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA. Full text