Susan E. Cross
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How do people define themselves, and what difference does one’s self-definition make? How does culture shape beliefs and practices regarding self and close relationships? Why is honor so important in some parts of the world? My research program weaves together three central dimensions of human experience—self and identity, close relationships, and culture—to address these critical questions about human behavior.
In particular, I have been examining the construct of honor in Turkey and the United States (with collaborators Ayse Uskul, Arzu Wasti, and Phia Salter), with a special focus on how honor and non-honor (or dignity) cultures think about and respond to honor-related situations. In other research, I have been investigating Chinese conceptions of close relationships, and how traditional Chinese values, such as filial piety, influence beliefs about and decision-making in relationships. Finally, I continue my interest in self-construal, and in cultural influences on self and identity.
Primary Interests:
- Close Relationships
- Culture and Ethnicity
- Life Satisfaction, Well-Being
- Self and Identity
- Social Cognition
Research Group or Laboratory:
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Journal Articles:
- Cross, S. E., & Madson, L. (1997). Models of the self: Self-construals and gender. Psychological Bulletin, 122(1), 5-37.
- Cross, S. E., Bacon, P., & Morris, M. (2000). The relational- interdependent self-construal and relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(4), 791-808.
- Cross, S. E., Gore, J. S., & Morris, M. L. (2003). The relational-interdependent self-construal, self-concept consistency, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(5), 933-944.
- Cross, S. E., Hardin, E., & Gercek-Swing, B. (2011). The what, how, why, and where of self-construal. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15(2), 142-179.
- Cross, S. E., Morris, M. L., & Gore, J. S. (2002). Thinking about oneself and others: The relational-interdependent self-construal and social cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(3), 399-418.
- Cross, S. E., Uskul, A. K., Gercek Swing, B., Sunbay, A., Alozkan, C., Gunsoy, C., Ataca, B., & Karakitapoğlu-Aygün, Z. (2014). Cultural prototypes and dimensions of honor. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(2), 232-249.
- Gul, P., Cross, S. E., & Uskul, A. K. (2021). Implications of culture of honor theory and research for practitioners and prevention researchers. American Psychologist, 76(3), 502-515.
- Günsoy, C., Cross, S. E., Saribay, A., Ökten, I. O., & Kurutaş, M. (2015). Would you post that picture and let your dad see it? Culture, honor, and Facebook. European Journal of Social Psychology, 45(3), 323-335.
- Lam, B.C-P, Cross, S. E., Wu, T-F., Yeh, K-H., Wang,Y-C., & Su, J.C. (2016). What do you want in a marriage? Examining marriage ideals in Taiwan and the United States. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42(6), 703-722.
- Lopez, H. N., Bock, J. E., Brown, R., & Cross, S. E. (2024). Beyond the dichotomy: Creation and validation of a continuous statewide index of U.S. honor culture. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
- Uskul, A. K., & Cross, S. E. (2019). The social and cultural psychology of honour: What have we learned from researching honour in Turkey? European Review of Social Psychology, 30(1), 39-73.
- Uskul, A. K., Cross, S. E., Gunsoy, C., Gercek-Swing, B., Aloskan, C., & Ataca, B. (2015). A price to pay: Turkish and Northern American retaliation for threats to personal and family honor. Aggressive Behavior, 41(6), 594-607.
- Uskul, A. K., Cross, S. E., Sunbay, Z., Gercek-Swing, B., & Ataca, B. (2012). Honor bound: The cultural construction of honor in Turkey and the northern United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 43(7), 1131-1151.
- Uskul, A. K., Cross, S., Alozkan, C., Gercek-Swing, B., Ataca, B., Gunsoy, C., & Sunbay, Z. (2014). Emotional responses to honor situations in Turkey and the Northern USA. Cognition and Emotion, 28(6), 1057-1075.
- Uskul, A. K., Kirchner-Häusler, A., Vignoles, V. L., Rodríguez-Bailón, R., Castillo, V. A., Cross, S. E., Gezici Yalçın, M., Harb, C., Husnu, S., Ishii, K., Jin, S., Karamouna, P., Kafetsios, K., Kateri, E., Matamaros-Lima, J., Liu, D., Miniesy, R., Na, J., Özkan, Z., Pagliaro, S., Psaltis, C., Rabie, D., Teresi, M., & Uchida, Y. (2023). Neither Eastern nor Western: Patterns of independence and interdependence in Mediterranean societies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 125(3), 471-495.
- Wu, T-F, Yeh, K-H, Cross, S. E., Larson, L. M., Wang, Y-C, & Tsai, Y-L. (2010). Conflict with mothers-in-law and Taiwanese women’s marital satisfaction: The moderating role of husband behavior. The Counseling Psychologist, 38(4), 497-522.
- Wu, T.-F., Cross, S. E., Wu, C.-W., Cho, W., & Tey, S.-H. (2016). Choosing your mother or your spouse: Close relationship dilemmas in Taiwan and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 47(4), 558-580.
Other Publications:
- Cross, S. E., & Uskul, A. K. (2022). Cultures of honor: Novel contexts, varied approaches, and new developments. In M. Gelfand, C-Y Chiu, and Y-Y Hong (Eds.), Handbook of Advances in Culture & Psychology (Vol. 9, pp. 189-243). Oxford University Press.
- Uskul, A. K., Cross, S. E., Gunsoy, C., & Gul, P. (2020). Cultures of honor. In S. Kitayama & D. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of Cultural Psychology (2nd ed.). Guilford.
Susan E. Cross
Department of Psychology
901 Stange Rd., 1347 Lagomarcino Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011-3180
United States of America
- Phone: (515) 294-3224
- Fax: (515) 294-6424
