Heejung Kim received her first B.A. in French Literature from Ewha Women's University in Seoul, Korea, and her second B.A. in Psychology from the University of Southern California. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Stanford University in 2001. She is currently an associate professor at the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara. Her research interests are in cultural psychology, looking at how culture influences a range of psychological processes. She is also interested in the role of culture and genetics in shaping social behaviors. Her research has been funded by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation. She was one of the most cited Assistant Professors in Social Psychology (Dialogue, Fall, 2007) and was named one of the Revolutionary Minds in science by Seed Magazine (August, 2008). She is currently an associate editor for Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Primary Interests:

Communication, Language
Culture and Ethnicity
Emotion, Mood, Affect
Evolution and Genetics
Health Psychology
Interpersonal Processes
Neuroscience, Psychophysiology
Self and Identity

Communication, Language
Culture and Ethnicity
Emotion, Mood, Affect
Evolution and Genetics
Health Psychology

Interpersonal Processes
Neuroscience, Psychophysiology
Self and Identity

Research Group or Laboratory:

UCSB Cultural Psychology Laboratory
Interactive Map

Journal Articles:

Kim, H. & Markus, H. R. (1999). Uniqueness or deviance, harmony or conformity: A cultural analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 785-800.
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. (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., Sherman, D. K., Mojaverian, T., Sasaki, J. Y., Park, J., Suh, E. M., & Taylor, S. E. (2011). Gene-culture interaction: Oxytocin receptor polymorphism (OXTR) and emotion regulation. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2, 665-672.
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., Sherman, D. K., & Taylor, S. E. (2008). Culture and social support. American Psychologist, 63, 518-526.
Sasaki, J. Y., & Kim, H. S. (2011). At the intersection of culture and religion: A cultural analysis of religion’s implications for secondary control and social affiliation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 401-414.

Courses Taught:

Cultural Psychology
Research Methods

Cultural Psychology

Research Methods

Heejung Kim
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9660
United States

Phone: (805) 893-6180
Fax: (805) 893-4303