In this first edition text, Lindolm introduces students to the field of psychological anthropology, tracing the growth of the field, interweaving perspectives from anthropology, psychology, and sociology, and applying the insights gained to an understanding of daily life in America. Unlike other texts, Culture and the Self is a coherent essay that deals with questions that are important to the field, includes the study of important theorists previously ignored, and covers contemporary topics such as object relations, identity, emotions, cognition, symbolic systems, idealized relationships, and the psychology of groups.