Cambridge Dictionary of Psychology

The Cambridge Dictionary of Psychology is the first and only dictionary that surveys the broad discipline of psychology from an international, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary focus. This focus was achieved in several ways. The managing and consulting editorial boards were comprised of world-renowned scholars in psychology from many different countries, not just the United States. They reviewed and edited all of the keyword entries to make them lively and applicable across cultural contexts, incorporating the latest knowledge in contemporary international psychology. Thus entries related to culture, as well as those from all domains of psychology, are written with the broadest possible audience in mind. Also, many keywords central to contemporary psychology were incorporated that are not included in many competitors, including the Oxford and APA dictionaries.

“Cross-cultural research among psychologists from countries throughout the world has dramatically increased during the past few decades. The degree that cognitive processes, emotions, values, personality traits, developmental processes and other psychological variables are related to cultural variables, and questions of heredity vs. environment that have intrigued psychology since its inception, can be studied with cross-cultural methodology. In addition to definitions from all areas of psychology, this dictionary provides a comprehensive list of terms in cross-cultural psychology that will be useful to students as well as experienced researchers in all areas of psychology and social sciences. David Matsumoto, a leader in the field of cross-cultural psychology, is to be congratulated for this comprehensive dictionary and for the selection of editors from throughout the world who contributed to this volume.” – James Georgas, Past-President, The International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, “An impressive achievement. More than its predecessors, The Cambridge Dictionary of Psychology takes into account that the way our psyche works and the way we study it depend on where we were born and raised. The plain language definitions make the book attractive for non-psychologists – it should be at the disposal of other social scientists who want to know what their psychologist colleagues mean, of journalists and other writers, and of any interested lay reader.” – Geert Hofstede, author of Culture’s Consequences, “Kudos to David Matsumoto and his team of 42 academic editors and 117 contributing scholars for this extraordinary work. By drawing from the entirety of psychology, worldwide, The Cambridge Dictionary of Psychology is both monumental and pioneering.” – David G. Myers, Hope College, author of Psychology, 9th Edition, “The Cambridge Dictionary of Psychology is a thorough, up-to-date compendium of psychology's technical nomenclature. Crafted by an international team of experts, it gets high marks for accuracy and clarity. And consistent with David Matsumoto's great expertise in cross-cultural psychology, it is particularly strong in its coverage of non-Western concepts.” – Wayne Weiten, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, "...This very comprehensive, interdisciplinary dictionary is notable for its quality and detail and shows the hard work of all those involved. Its definitions cover all areas of psychology from a global perspective that is not always evident in similar works; many of its entries are not found in comparable dictionaries. Its clearly written, easy-to-understand definitions will be beneficial to students and researchers alike... a great addition to any reference collection, including collections that already include the APA Dictionary... Highly recommended." – T.L. Stout, Missouri State University, Choice

David Matsumoto is an internationally acclaimed author and psychologist. He received his BA from the University of Michigan in 1981 with high honors in psychology and Japanese. He subsequently earned his MA (1983) and PhD (1986) in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently Professor of Psychology and Director of the Culture and Emotion Research Laboratory at San Francisco State University, where he has been since 1989. He has studied culture, emotion, social interaction, and communication for 20 years and has approximately 400 works in these areas. His books include well-known titles such as Culture and Psychology: People around the World, The Intercultural Adjustment Potential of Japanese, The Handbook of Culture and Psychology, and The New Japan. He is the recipient of many awards and honors in the field of psychology, including being named a G. Stanley Hall lecturer by the American Psychological Association. He is the series editor for the Cambridge University Press series Culture and Psychology. He is also Editor for the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology and the Culture and Diversity Section of Social and Personality Psychology Compass. He has appeared on numerous television and radio shows and has worked in more than 40 countries around the world.