Dr. Varnum's research is focused on how culture shapes fundamental psychological processes ranging from empathy, to conformity, to self-construal. He takes the view that what constitutes "culture" is not only nationality or ethnicity but that social class and region also constitute forms of culture. His work is focused on understanding the origins of cultural differences and the mechanisms by which these patterns of thinking are learned and maintained. He is also exploring factors that drive cultural change. In his work he uses a broad variety of approaches ranging from analysis of secondary datasets (i.e. census data), to social psychological lab experiments, to neuroimaging.
