Psychological Aspects of Social Axioms – Understanding Global Belief Systems

While value-based frameworks have offered revealing insights about culture, other conceptualtools need to be explored and deployed for a comprehensive understanding of both culture and individuals and how culture shapes individual processes and outcomes. To achieve this end, the authors and editors propose the construct of social axioms to augment values in interpreting culture and the behavior of individuals in their cultural contexts. Social axioms are defined as generalized beliefs about oneself, other people, the social environment, or the spiritual and physical world, and are central to a person’s belief system. Their function is to enhance the survival and functioning of the person in his/her social and physical environment.