Steven Heine

Dr. Steven J. Heine is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Faculty of Arts. He serves as the Lab Director for the Culture and Self Lab and holds the Distinguished University Scholar and Sauder Distinguished Scholar titles. His research spans cultural psychology, existential psychology, and health psychology.

• Primary Research: Cultural self-conception, meaning-making, genetic essentialism, inequality
• Secondary Research: Health psychology, cross-cultural sleep patterns, AI interaction

Key Publications include the textbook Cultural Psychology and the trade book Start Making Sense: How Existential Psychology can Help Build Meaningful Lives in Absurd Times (2025). His work has been featured in outlets like Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Advances in Motivation Science.

Scientific Awards:

• Royal Society of Canada Fellow (2016)
• Outstanding Contributions to Cultural Psychology Award (2020)
• Killam Faculty Research Fellow (2006)
• Distinguished Scientist Early Career Award, APA (2003)

Current Lab Members include PhD candidates Kate Guan and Dunigan Folk, along with Master's students Mike Mask and Yangyilin Guo. He is accepting graduate students for the next year.