Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions

Praise for Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions

The book contributes much to the discussion of the origins of emotions, presenting a dazzling array of cross-cultural studies interspersed with personal anecdotes about immigrants’ struggles to reconcile diverse emotional and social worlds.
— Asifa Majid - Science

Ultimately, [Batja] Mesquita’s [Between Us] presents a powerful and stirring argument for viewing emotions and emotional episodes holistically. It’s a call to action that will make our schools, businesses, and justice systems more equitable. Empathy, that much-lauded concept, is not enough. Mesquita argues that we must move past empathy, which entails imagining that we can project our own experiences onto someone else, and instead learn to compassionately ask questions and understand what a person’s emotional response means to them based on their cultural background.


— Emily Cataneo - Undark

The bounty of case studies captivates and makes a strong argument that social conditions have the power to dictate how one expresses and experiences emotions. The result is a bracing and bold appraisal of how feelings develop.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

An astute psychological study of emotions around the world.
— Kirkus Reviews

Batja Mesquita’s work on culture and emotion is highly original and highly important and has been influential in shaping the science of emotion. It’s no surprise that Between Us is a groundbreaking book.


— Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

With globalization increasing, time and again we face the unsettling realization that emotions unfurl so differently across cultural lines. Why is that? Now, from the world’s leading expert on the science of culture and emotion, you’ll find answers to this increasingly consequential question. Beyond an informative read, Batja Mesquita’s Between Us is a fun read. Stemming from more than three decades of scientific study and immigrant experiences, Between Us presents engaging stories and evidence-based insights that both satisfy and fascinate. You’ll come away understanding how and why emotion scientists got answers to the culture question so wrong for so long, as well as how Batja Mesquita and others ventured to get it right. Between Us is a must-read.


— Barbara L. Fredrickson, PhD, author of Love 2.0: Creating Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection

Between Us takes you on a grand tour of the world and the mind, led by one of the world’s leading experts on emotion and culture. The journey is a joy, full of puzzles, insights, and empathy, and by the end you'll understand yourself, your culture, and our common yet variable humanity better.


— Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind and coauthor of The Coddling of the American Mind

Emotions are cultural tools for surviving, thriving in, and even shaping the world we live in. Between Us is a vibrant tour de force from the preeminent scholar on cultural variation in emotions. Prepare to be astounded.


— Lisa Feldman Barrett, author of How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain

If you want to understand how the patterns of your emotional life emerge from the sociocultural context of your life, there is no better book to read than Between Us. It’s a profound book. Yet, at its core, it is also a powerful humility, a humility that is an actual methodology for understanding and navigating cultural differences in emotion. It should be read by everyone from kindergarten teachers to corporate CEOs. And blessedly, it’s a great read—accessible, delightful, and inspiring.


— Claude M. Steele, author of Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do

In Between Us, acclaimed affective scientist Batja Mesquita compellingly shows that understanding people across cultural and racial divides requires immersing yourself in their diverse emotional realities. The book is a must-read for everyone working toward justice and inclusion—from law enforcement to schools to the workplace.


— Jennifer Eberhardt, Morris M. Doyle Centennial Professor of Public Policy and professor of psychology at Stanford University, author of Biased