My main interests are in how people understand the world and each other, how that knowledge is socially distributed, and in the consequences of that distribution of knowledge.  My early work was mainly concerned with how people understand the natural world.  This work explored how patterns of inter-informant variation in various domains (e.g., birds, fish, manioc varieties, hot-cold valences of foods, etc.) reflect the ways in which culture is learned and transmitted, and how the patterns of correspondence between different systems of biological classification reflect pan-human perceptual strategies drawing common inferences from similar experience.  My current research focuses on how people understand themselves and each other, and in how intra and inter-cultural variation in emotions, personality, and values is patterned.