ABSTRACT
Culture is a cornerstone, perhaps even the epitome, of human sociality. Culture has been dened in various ways. In cultural social psychology, it has become common to characterize culture by the knowledge and beliefs distributed within a population or community that are distinct from the knowledge and beliefs held by other populations or communities (e.g., Chiu & Hong, 2006, 2007; Lehman, Chiu, & Schaller, 2004). A key challenge for research is to understand the origin and bases of prevalent cultural knowledge. Where do culturally characteristic knowledge and beliefs come from, and what are the processes by which they are formed and maintained?
