Psycho-Geographical Substratum Nesting Theory: A Multilevel Integrative Framework of Ecology, Culture, and Mind

WU Kai LI Yongxin
(School of Psychology, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China)

Abstract

Human psychological activity does not occur in isolation but is deeply embedded in geographical and ecological contexts. The geographical substrate imposes both constraints and affordances, shaping the range of human adaptation and creativity. In responding to environmental conditions, human groups gradually form distinctive cultural practices and cognitive patterns. The Psycho-Geographical Substratum Nesting Theory proposes three interrelated dimensions—geographical substrate, micro-transmission, and cultural prototype—and elaborates them into five hierarchical levels, unveiling a causal chain from the physical environment to psychological cognition. The model highlights the synergistic roles of embodied cognition, social learning, cultural tools, and cognitive schemas, illustrating how macro-ecological conditions are transformed into cultural prototypes and individual psychological tendencies. It further emphasizes the dynamic evolution of these processes through feedback loops, historical inertia, and external regulation. Drawing on empirical and ethnographic cases such as the rice theory, the culture of honor in the American South, the ecological roots of Japanese cultural psychology, and the geographical foundations of ethnic music, the theory demonstrates its explanatory power and interdisciplinary potential. It offers a novel framework for understanding cultural diversity and the ecological origins of human cognition.

Keywords: Psycho-Geographical Substratum Nesting Theory; cultural prototypes; embodied cognition

A complete account of psychology cannot be separated from geography, and vice versa. Human thought, emotion, and behavior are always deeply rooted in specific geographical environments, which are themselves continuously understood, interpreted, and transformed by humans (Götz et al., 2025). However, despite early attempts to explore the relationship between mind and geography, this interdisciplinary connection failed to develop into a sustained academic tradition, leaving a significant blind spot in research perspectives (Götz et al., 2025). For a long time, mainstream psychology has relied on a universalist assumption that basic psychological mechanisms such as attention, perception, and learning are common to all humanity, thereby treating cultural and ecological factors as negligible secondary variables (Wang, 2016). In contrast, cultural psychology emphasizes that the mind is not an abstract, cross-situational universal mechanism but a mental activity deeply embedded in cultural and ecological contexts (Shweder, 1990). This divergence in orientation has not only resulted in fragmented research findings but has also led to an overreliance on "WEIRD" populations (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) in psychological conclusions, thereby limiting their representativeness of human experience as a whole (Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010). In fact, a substantial body of research demonstrates systematic differences in cognition, emotion, and behavior among populations from different cultures and regions (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Therefore, to truly grasp the complexity and diversity of human experience, psychological research must transcend disciplinary and geographical boundaries by incorporating cultural and geographical environments into its theoretical and methodological frameworks.

In existing behavior genetics research, "environment" typically refers to individual-level contexts and experiences, such as family socioeconomic status, parenting styles, peer groups, and other unique life events. These micro-environmental variables, interacting with genetic factors, are believed to explain approximately 40–60% of individual differences (Vukasović & Bratko, 2015). However, this research orientation often overlooks more macro-level background conditions—geographical patterns, cultural traditions, and socio-ecological structures. Unlike micro-environments that directly influence individual development, macro-geographical and human environments function more as "background constraints" that indirectly yet enduringly shape psychological and behavioral differences by structuring resource distribution, institutional arrangements, and social interaction patterns. The absence of a systematic integrative framework linking geographical conditions to psychological environments has long prevented this level of influence from being fully revealed. This study addresses this gap by exploring the unique significance of geographical-cultural-socio-ecological factors in human behavioral variation from a perspective that examines the interaction between macro-environments and micro-individuals. When re-examining the relationship between mind and geography, we must first confront the historical legacy of environmental determinism. This theory posits that human culture and social development are directly determined by natural conditions such as climate and topography (Montesquieu, 1748). However, it has been criticized on both moral and scientific grounds for its oversimplification, lack of empirical support (Fekadu, 2014), and its historical use as a justification for racism and colonialism—for example, claiming that "tropical climates make people lazy" to rationalize colonial rule (Donner, 2020). Such arguments are logically crude and cannot explain cultural differences under similar geographical conditions or economic disparities between neighboring countries. Consequently, environmental determinism gradually lost academic credibility. Yet its complete rejection created another bias: in many psychological and sociological studies, the geographical environment was reduced to an irrelevant background variable, ignoring its deep role in psychological and social formation (Fukuyama, 2001).

Recent research has re-emphasized the significance of environment. For instance, "pathogen threat theory" suggests that regions with high pathogen loads are more likely to develop collectivist and xenophobic tendencies to reduce infection risks; cross-national comparisons show significant correlations between historical pathogen prevalence and collectivism levels (Fincher et al., 2008; Schaller & Park, 2011; Murray & Schaller, 2016). Similarly, Talhelm et al. (2014) proposed the "rice theory," finding that southern rice-farming regions, due to irrigation-dependent cooperation, exhibit greater collectivism, while northern wheat-farming regions lean more toward individualism. Macro-level explanations have also attempted to restore the importance of environmental dimensions. For example, Diamond (1997) in Guns, Germs, and Steel argues that differences in civilizational development stem primarily from geographical conditions such as the domesticability of plants and animals and continental axis orientation. Although such theories are grand in scope, their psychological mechanisms often remain implicit. In contrast, psychological micro-models can reveal "eco-psychological" chains but tend to be constrained by single factors. To bridge this tension, contemporary scholars have proposed comprehensive frameworks. For example, Van de Vliert's (2013) "climate-economic model" posits that culture represents a psychological adaptation to the interaction between climatic demands and economic resources: in regions with extreme climates and scarce resources, people prioritize survival and collective dependence, whereas in areas with favorable climates and abundant resources, individualism and self-expression flourish. Existing theories generally exhibit two orientations: one is macro-level environmental-social determinism, which emphasizes environmental shaping power on civilizational processes but lacks detailed psychological mechanisms; the other is micro-level eco-psychological correlationism, which focuses on precise causal modeling but struggles to integrate multidimensional environmental factors.

Future research must transcend these two orientations by developing a multilevel, non-deterministic theoretical framework that reveals the layered mechanisms from ecosystems to social institutions, behavioral norms, and individual psychology. Based on this, this paper proposes the "Psycho-Geographical Substratum Nesting Theory" (PGSNT) as a multilevel integrative framework for understanding the relationship between ecology, culture, and mind. The core argument of PGSNT is that geographical environments do not directly determine human psychology through a single path but "nestingly" influence mind and behavior through a series of intermediate levels derived from the environment. This framework seeks to integrate insights from geography, anthropology, and psychology while avoiding the pitfalls of previous single-factor determinisms. It is crucial to emphasize that PGSNT is an open and agnostic theoretical framework that does not presume the superiority of any particular theoretical paradigm. Instead, it advocates incorporating multiple perspectives within the same framework and explaining the complex relationship between ecology and mind through dialogue among different theories. This aligns with the "three-axis framework for geography-psychology interaction (geographical variables, psychological variables, interaction mechanisms)" recently proposed by Götz et al. (2025), which similarly advocates granting equal status to geography and psychology, viewing their relationship as bidirectionally constructed rather than unidirectionally causal, and calling for multidisciplinary integration to identify neglected research blind spots. The goal of PGSNT is to provide such a holistic map spanning macro-meso-micro levels, pointing directions for interdisciplinary research while encouraging the testing of multiple competing hypotheses within it, thereby avoiding any form of theoretical dogmatism. Thus, introducing PGSNT helps overcome previous research limitations and responds to psychology's renewed emphasis on cultural and ecological factors.

1.1 A Multilevel Perspective Borrowed from Ecological Systems Theory

To construct a theoretical framework capable of accommodating multilevel influences from macro-geography to micro-psychology, this study first borrows Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory as its structural blueprint (Bronfenbrenner, & Ceci, 1994). This theory revolutionarily posits that individual development occurs within a series of nested environmental systems, each profoundly influencing the individual. These systems include: the microsystem (immediate environments surrounding the individual, such as family and school, with bidirectional interactions), the mesosystem (connections between microsystems, such as family-school interactions), the exosystem (social levels the individual does not directly participate in but that affect their life, such as parental workplaces and community policies), the macrosystem (overall cultural, values, and legal environment), and the chronosystem across time. Ecological systems theory emphasizes the interactive and contextual nature of development, particularly its concept of "bidirectional influence," providing us with a powerful anti-determinist tool (Cherry, 2023). However, the theory also has limitations: its model is difficult to test empirically, and it relatively neglects the fundamental role of the physical environment (e.g., climate, topography) as the basis of all social systems (Elliott & Davis, 2018; Tudge, Mokrova, Hatfield, & Karnik, 2009). To compensate for this deficiency, the PGSNT framework emerges. Building upon ecological systems theory, PGSNT adds a more fundamental "substrate" layer—physical geography and ecological environment—and emphasizes that this substrate provides the initial constraints and possibilities for generating all upper-level sociocultural systems. PGSNT inherits the hierarchical nesting approach of ecological systems theory but highlights the transmission chain from physical environment to psychological outcomes. In other words, its focus is not merely on static correspondences between macro-environment and individual psychology but on how ecological environments "permeate" the psychological level through a series of mediating mechanisms. Thus, PGSNT uses the hierarchical divisions of ecological systems theory as a starting point while introducing more specific transmission mechanisms and pathways, transforming abstract environmental influences into an operational and testable analytical framework.

1.2 Mechanisms of Cognitive Construction: Schemas, Embodiment, and Cultural Tools

If ecological systems theory provides the structure of "where" influences occur, then cognitive psychological theories reveal the mechanisms of "how" external reality is transformed into internal mental structures. This theory integrates three core cognitive construction mechanisms.

The first is Bartlett's schema theory. This theory posits that knowledge is not a passively recorded copy but is actively constructed and organized into mental frameworks called "schemas" (Bartlett, 1995). Schemas originate from individuals' past experiences and function like evolving knowledge networks that guide how we understand and remember new information. Bartlett's famous "War of the Ghosts" experiment demonstrated that memory is a reconstructive process: when people recall stories inconsistent with their cultural schemas, they unconsciously modify, simplify, or rationalize them to fit their existing knowledge frameworks (Wagoner, 2013). This provides a crucial mechanism for understanding how cultural experiences shape stable and enduring mental models: experiences derived from specific ecological adaptation activities gradually form shared cultural schemas, which in turn filter and shape individuals' perception and memory of the world.

The second is embodied cognition theory. This theory challenges the mind-body dualism in traditional psychology, arguing that cognitive processes are deeply rooted in interactions between the body and the environment. Cognition serves action, and our body's sensorimotor capacities fundamentally shape how we think and perceive (Goldinger et al., 2016). For example, a baseball outfielder can catch a fly ball not by performing complex parabolic calculations in the brain but by maintaining a dynamic visual coupling with the ball's trajectory while running. This theory provides a direct bridge connecting specific physical activities (such as rice cultivation or animal husbandry) to specific cognitive styles. However, embodied cognition theory has also been criticized for its sometimes vague concepts and insufficient attention to sociocultural factors; this theory aims to situate it within a broader cultural-ecological framework to compensate for this deficiency.

Finally, Vygotsky's cultural-historical psychology builds the bridge from society to the individual. Vygotsky argued that uniquely human higher mental functions (such as logical memory and abstract thinking) are not innate but are mediated through social interaction (Miller, 2014). The core of this mediating process is "cultural tools," which include both psychological tools (language, writing, symbolic systems, maps) and material tools. Through interaction with more experienced social members (such as parents and teachers), children learn and "internalize" the use of these cultural tools, thereby transforming external social activities into internal psychological processes (Veraksa & Veraksa, 2018). This process perfectly explains how shared cultural practices (which are themselves adaptations to the environment) are transformed into individual cognitive structures.

These three theories are not mutually exclusive but describe different facets of the same grand process: the internalization of environment. Individuals exist in environments and must adopt purposeful, embodied actions for survival (embodied cognition). Repeated action patterns form stable experiences that are organized into mental frameworks (schema theory). The strategies, languages, and symbols used to organize and execute these actions are cultural tools internalized through social learning (cultural-historical psychology). Together, they constitute a complete pathway depicting how the external world is actively "brought into" the mind.

1.3 Dynamics of Cultural Evolution: Social Learning, Feedback Loops, and Path Dependence

Once psychological patterns derived from the geographical substrate are formed, how can they persist across generations? This requires introducing the dynamic mechanisms of cultural evolution.

Bandura's social learning theory provides the core transmission mechanism. This theory states that human behavior is largely learned through observation, imitation, and modeling rather than relying solely on direct trial-and-error and reinforcement. Bandura identified four key processes in observational learning: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation (Bandura, 1977). Particularly important is the concept of "vicarious reinforcement," where individuals adjust their behavior by observing the consequences of others' actions (reward or punishment) without direct personal experience (Bandura, 1986). This mechanism greatly enhances the efficiency of transmitting cultural norms and complex skills, explaining why behavioral patterns under specific social structures (such as violent responses in honor cultures) can be rapidly acquired and internalized by younger generations.

Second, cultural feedback loops explain the self-reinforcing nature of culture. The process by which cultural elements (values, norms, practices) are created, transmitted, and reinforced in a society is cyclical, where the output of one iteration becomes the input for the next (Hamedani & Markus, 2019). For example, a behavior receiving social approval (positive feedback) encourages more people to adopt it, thereby further strengthening its status as a social norm. This continuous interaction among culture, brain, and behavior forms a powerful feedback system that endows cultural patterns with dynamic stability (Crafa, D & Nagel, 2020).

Finally, the concept of path dependence from social sciences explains the persistence of cultural patterns. This theory suggests that certain early events or choices in history, even if accidental, can have profound and irreversible effects on subsequent developmental trajectories. Once a technology, institution, or cultural practice becomes "locked in" due to "first-mover advantage" or "increasing returns," society finds it difficult to escape the original path even when superior alternatives emerge later (Page, 2006; Thelen, 1999). This explains why certain cultural traits can tenaciously survive long after the ecological pressures that initially produced them have disappeared, becoming a form of historical inertia (Cooke & Rehfeld, 2011).

Social learning theory explains "how cultural patterns are transmitted," cultural feedback loops explain "how they are self-maintained," and path dependence explains "why they are so persistent." Together, these three dynamic mechanisms ensure that culture and cognition patterns derived from specific psycho-geographical substrates can transcend individual lives and become stable, profound collective characteristics.

2 The Construction and Operation of Psycho-Geographical Substratum Nesting Theory

After clarifying the contributions and limitations of existing theories and establishing the necessity of building an integrative framework, this study formally proposes the "Psycho-Geographical Substratum Nesting Theory" (PGSNT) and presents its core architecture and operational mechanisms.

PGSNT aims to depict a dynamic and complex picture: the geographical substrate sets the stage and initial script, the body is the primary actor, social learning is the rehearsal process, cultural tools are the props and lines, and the resulting cultural schemas are the deeply internalized role settings. This script can be modified by later directors (such as technology or foreign ideas), but the original shape of the stage always invisibly constrains the style and direction of the entire performance.

2.1 Core Definitions

The core definition of "Psycho-Geographical Substratum Nesting Theory" is as follows: Human psychology and culture constitute a dynamically evolving nested system constructed upon a specific geographical substrate through multidimensional transmission mechanisms including embodied cognition (transformation of bodily experience), social learning (replication of behavioral patterns), cultural tools (shaping of mental logic), and cognitive schemas (construction of internal frameworks). In this system, the geographical substrate serves as the underlying logic. Its influence, though not deterministic, profoundly shapes cultural prototypes and, through continuous interaction with individuals and the external world, exhibits powerful historical inertia and contemporary explanatory power.

This definition emphasizes five core elements. First, nested system: Psychology and culture are not single-level phenomena but multilayered complex structures where underlying physical environments and upper-level psychological cognition are interrelated and progressively linked. Second, geographical substrate: The physical environment is the system's starting point and foundation, providing "constraints" and "affordances" that set the initial probability distribution for human survival strategies. Third, micro-transmission mechanisms: This is the theory's core engine, explaining how the geographical substrate's influence is "translated" and "amplified" through specific psychological processes (embodied cognition, social learning, etc.). Fourth, cultural prototypes: These are the theory's output results, referring to relatively stable psychological tendencies and behavioral patterns in a society. They are not fixed "traits" but "prototypes" with dynamic evolutionary potential. Fifth, dynamic evolution: The psycho-geographical substratum nesting system is open, contains feedback loops, and is continuously modulated by historical inertia and external shocks, keeping it in constant flux.

PGSNT aligns conceptually with the "three-axis framework for geography-psychology interaction (geographical variables, psychological variables, interaction mechanisms)" proposed by Götz et al. (2025). The latter similarly advocates granting equal status to geography and psychology, viewing their relationship as bidirectionally constructed rather than unidirectionally causal, and calling for multidisciplinary integration to identify neglected research blind spots. PGSNT further proposes a "nested" causal transmission chain that embeds the three-axis classification framework into a multilevel system, preserving both the breadth of interdisciplinary integration and the depth of causal explanation. Therefore, PGSNT not only responds to psychology's renewed emphasis on cultural and ecological factors but also provides a holistic map spanning macro-meso-micro levels for future interdisciplinary research.

2.2 Hierarchical Analysis

The theoretical model can be parsed into three nested layers that borrow from Bronfenbrenner's ecological model but focus more on the transmission path from physical environment to psychological structure.

Layer 1: Geographical Substrate. The geographical substrate is the theory's logical starting point and cornerstone. It comprises macro-level physical environmental features within a specific region that are long-term stable and not easily changed by individuals, resembling a culture's "genome" or "underlying operating system." It does not write specific cultural "applications" (such as particular myths or rituals) but sets the basic parameters and constraints for running these programs. Its main components include: climate and hydrology (rainfall, temperature, humidity, river distribution, water availability); topography and landforms (plains, mountains, plateaus, islands, coastlines); resource endowments (soil fertility, mineral resources, available flora and fauna); and geographical location (continental interior, coastal, isolated islands), which determines the difficulty of contact with other cultures. The geographical substrate's role is not to "determine" but to "shape probabilities." It does not directly prescribe what humans must do but, by providing a series of "constraints" and "affordances," makes certain survival strategies more feasible and rewarding than others. For example, a fertile alluvial plain with abundant water "affords" agricultural settlement, while an arid grassland "constrains" large-scale agriculture while "affording" nomadic life.

Layer 2: Micro-Transmission Mechanisms. This is the theory's most innovative component, detailing how the macro-level influence of the geographical substrate is transmitted and internalized into individual psychological structures through four synergistic psychological mechanisms. These mechanisms form a complete chain from physical to psychological. First is embodied cognition, the first link in the transmission chain. Environmental information enters the mental system's first step through the body. Cognition is not abstract calculation independent of the body but is deeply rooted in the body's structure and its interaction with the environment. The survival pressures exerted by the geographical substrate first require adaptive behavioral responses from the human body. These repeatedly performed, highly environment-coupled bodily postures, movement patterns, and sensory experiences constitute the most primitive and direct "knowledge." For example, in regions with year-round hot and humid climates requiring frequent cleaning of wooden houses to prevent mold (such as parts of traditional Japan), specific bodily postures like kneeling to wipe floors emerge. This posture is not merely a labor method but a long-term, repeated bodily experience that shapes the individual's relationship with living space—a low-perspective, intimate relationship requiring substantial physical labor. This knowledge is not abstract symbols but sensorimotor patterns stored in bodily memory.

Second is social learning, the second link responsible for replicating and spreading successful embodied adaptive behaviors across the group. According to social learning theory, individuals learn behaviors through observation, imitation, and modeling. When an individual or small group develops an effective survival behavior (such as an efficient irrigation technique or cooperative hunting method), other social members develop learning motivation through observing its successful outcomes (vicarious reinforcement) and imitate it. This process transforms individually embodied adaptive behaviors into group-level, standardized social practices.

Third is cultural-historical psychology, the third link responsible for symbolizing and meaning-making of social practices. Drawing on Vygotsky's theory, uniquely human higher mental functions are mediated through cultural tools (especially language) internalized from external social activities. When a social practice (such as cooperative irrigation) is widely adopted, society develops corresponding language, rules, stories, and values to describe, organize, and legitimize this behavior. Words like "cooperation," "collective interest," and "harmony" elevate purely utilitarian behaviors into culturally meaningful moral norms. Language is not just a communication tool but a tool that shapes thinking, transforming external behavioral logic into internal mental logic.

Finally, cognitive schemas constitute the last link, responsible for solidifying internalized cultural norms into stable psychological structures. Schema theory posits that human knowledge is organized into mental frameworks or "schemas" that actively influence how we perceive, interpret, and remember information. Long-term immersion in social practices shaped by specific geographical environments and mediated by social learning and cultural tools leads individuals to construct corresponding cultural schemas. For example, individuals raised in rice-cultivation cultures develop a "collectivism schema" that automatically guides them to understand the world from relational and contextual perspectives, prioritizing group harmony.

Table 1 [TABLE:1]: Four Micro-Transmission Mechanisms of Psycho-Geographical Substratum Nesting Theory

Mechanism/Theory Key Theorists Function in the Nesting System Embodied Cognition Varela, Thompson, Rosch Transforms raw environmental pressures into pre-symbolic, bodily experiences and action patterns rooted in sensorimotor interaction with the world. Social Learning Theory Bandura Propagates successful embodied behaviors from individuals to groups, creating shared social practices through observation, imitation, and modeling. Cultural-Historical Psychology Vygotsky Transforms shared practices into meaningful, value-laden cultural norms and internalizes them as higher-order thinking through cultural tools (e.g., language). Cognitive Schema Theory Bartlett, Piaget Integrates internalized norms and experiences into stable, automated cognitive structures (cultural prototypes) that shape perception and memory.

Layer 3: Cultural Prototypes and Dynamic Evolution. This is the outermost layer of the nested system—the observable result of interactions between the first two layers. It includes dominant psychological tendencies, social structures, and cultural products in a society. We use "cultural prototypes" rather than "cultural traits" to emphasize their non-fixed nature. Cultural prototypes are typical, high-probability psychological and behavioral patterns in a specific culture—for example, the "collectivism prototype" in rice-cultivation cultures, the "honor culture prototype" in nomadic cultures, or the "relational dependency prototype" in island cultures. These prototypes are macro-level manifestations of cognitive schemas at the group level. Cultural prototypes are not static but dynamically evolve in three ways: First, feedback: Human cultural activities, in turn, transform the geographical substrate (such as building water conservancy projects or urbanization), creating new constraints and affordances that initiate new cycles of adaptation and transmission. Second, historical inertia: Once cultural schemas are established and reinforced over generations, they become highly stable, continuing to influence people's thinking and behavior even when the original geographical environment that produced them has changed. Third, modulation: The system is open and subject to external factors. Globalization, technological leaps, and cross-cultural exchanges interact with historically inertial cultural prototypes, potentially leading to their reinforcement, modification, attenuation, or the emergence of new, hybrid cultural forms.

2.3 Operational Mechanisms

To more clearly understand how the theory operates, we now deconstruct the complete transmission path from environment to mind, illustrating how the four micro-transmission mechanisms interlock to transform the geographical substrate's potential influence into actual psychological structures.

Stage 1: From Environment to Body. The system begins with the most basic demands for human survival posed by the geographical substrate. This transformation is pre-linguistic and pre-reflective, "translating" geographical information into physiological reality through the body's perceptual and motor systems. Take persistent hot and humid climates as an example. This constant sensory input creates biological pressures including fungal growth, food spoilage, and bodily discomfort. To cope, the body develops strong avoidance and cleaning needs. This sensitivity to "cleanliness" versus "filth," "dryness" versus "dampness," becomes a fundamental physiological drive that lays the biological and phenomenological foundation for subsequent cultural practices (such as frequent bathing or specific architectural styles).

Stage 2: From Body to Social Practice. Individual embodied solutions to environmental pressures, if proven effective, are adopted, imitated, refined, and ultimately standardized by the group through social learning mechanisms, becoming shared cultural practices or customs. Continuing the hot and humid climate example: individuals may accidentally discover specific cleaning methods (such as kneeling to wipe wooden floors with damp cloths to effectively remove moisture and mold). When neighbors observe these behaviors' good results, they imitate them. Through multi-generational transmission and refinement, these initially individual adaptive behaviors may evolve into standardized cultural techniques. For instance, the elevated floors and permeable shoji doors in traditional Japanese architecture served functional purposes, one of which was to cope with Japan's hot and humid climate.

Stage 3: From Social Practice to Internal Schema. This is the crucial leap in PGSNT's causal path. When individuals are long immersed in environments composed of specific social practices and cultural tools, they learn not only the "operational methods" of these practices but, more importantly, internalize the "deep logic" they embody. Take traditional Japanese house structures as an example. Living in residences divided by paper "fusuma" and "shoji" screens (Uyeda, 2023), individuals gain experiences far beyond efficiently utilizing small spaces. The lack of solid walls and strict functional zoning blurs physical boundaries between family members, making one person's activities easily perceived by others. This architectural space itself is a powerful "cultural tool" that constantly communicates to inhabitants that individuals are interrelated parts of a group, that privacy is relative and fluid, and that personal behavior must always consider its impact on others. Growing up in such environments, individuals internalize a highly contextualized, relationship-oriented cognitive schema. They learn to communicate through nonverbal cues, develop keen insight into others' emotions and intentions, and form behavioral tendencies that prioritize collective harmony over personal expression. Physical solutions initially aimed at coping with humidity and space constraints ultimately transform into profound psychological traits.

Stage 4: System Dynamics. The nested system is not a unidirectional, linear "conveyor belt" but a vibrant, dynamic system. First, feedback loops: Through activities like building terraces and digging canals, humans dramatically transform the geographical substrate. This modified "secondary substrate" generates new constraints and affordances, initiating new cycles of adaptation and transmission and making cultural-environmental coevolution more intimate. Second, historical inertia: This is a key point of PGSNT's explanatory power. Thinking schemas derived from agricultural patterns thousands of years ago can still profoundly influence people's social behavior in modern times. The persistence of the American Southern "culture of honor" is an excellent example: its core "honor schema," originating from Scottish-Irish herders' survival strategies in frontier regions, remains active in modern Southern men despite their no longer being herders. Finally, external modulation: The system is open and continuously impacted and modulated by the external world. Trade, war, globalization, and modern technology spread bring new technologies, institutions, and ideas. The outcomes are complex: sometimes foreign cultures are assimilated by indigenous schemas; other times they may cause "hasty stitching" contradictions between two cultural systems, generating social and psychological tension and conflict. This dynamism ensures the theoretical model can explain cultural change, not just its origins.

2.4 Nested Interactions

The model's core value lies in providing a clear, structured framework that makes complex, cross-level arguments intuitive and accessible. From an analytical perspective, this study summarizes the psycho-geographical substratum nesting system into three logical levels: geographical substrate, micro-transmission mechanisms, and cultural prototypes. However, in the operational model's presentation, to better reveal the step-by-step progression of the causal chain, this study further refines it into five levels (see Table 2 [TABLE:2]). This dual formulation highlights both the theoretical abstraction's holism and the model's operational feasibility in empirical research and application. It depicts not only the static structure of "nesting" but, more importantly, maps the various theoretical mechanisms discussed earlier (such as embodied cognition and social learning) onto different model levels, thereby revealing a dynamic causal transmission chain from geography to mind. This theoretical model is not a unidirectional, rigid determinism but emphasizes dynamic interactions across levels, including both top-down constraints and shaping and bottom-up agency and reconstruction.

Top-Down Influence (Constraint and Shaping). The model's primary causal flow transmits downward from Level 1 (substrate) to Level 5 (individual cognition). The geographical substrate's objective conditions (climate, topography) create ecological pressures that make certain survival strategies (Level 2) more adaptive than others. The practices of these survival strategies (such as cooperative irrigation or mobile pastoralism) require specific social structures and cultural tools (Level 3) for support and coordination. To rationalize and effectively transmit these social structures and norms, social members collectively construct corresponding cultural schemas and worldviews (Level 4). Ultimately, individuals growing up in this environment internalize these schemas through socialization, forming their unique cognitive and emotional tendencies (Level 5). Path dependence mechanisms make the entire system, once formed, powerfully inertial and difficult to change (Page, 2006; Thelen, 1999).

Bottom-Up Influence (Agency and Reconstruction). Meanwhile, human agency operates at all levels, forming bottom-up feedback and reconstructive forces. Individuals and groups are not passive recipients of environmental shaping. Through "niche construction," they actively transform the physical environment (such as building terraces and digging canals). They invent new cultural tools (technological innovations, institutional designs) that can反过来 change survival strategies and even social structures. They also reinterpret, challenge, and modify existing cultural schemas. These bottom-up changes can create new feedback loops that, over time, may alter the entire system's appearance (Crafa, D & Nagel, 2020). In the globalization era, a particularly important phenomenon is the emergence of the "digital substrate." The Internet and social media, as human creations, are forming a new, virtual reality layer whose influence is beginning to rival traditional physical substrates. This is the most powerful proof of human agency reshaping its living environment (Stuart, 2024).

Table 2: Nested Level Model of Psycho-Geographical Substratum Theory

Level Name Description Key Mechanisms Level 1 Psycho-Geographical Substrate Fundamental physical and ecological environment: climate, topography, resource abundance/scarcity, local pathogens, etc. Provides ultimate constraints and affordances for human survival. Ecological constraints and possibilities Level 2 Survival and Embodiment Primary survival patterns and economic activities directly responding to the substrate. At this level, cognition becomes "embodied" through repeated, purposeful physical actions. Embodied cognition; perception-action cycles Level 3 Social Structure and Cultural Tools Stable social organizations, norms, and mediating artifacts developed to manage survival activities. Includes kinship systems, property rights, technology, etc. Vygotsky's cultural tools; social learning Level 4 Cultural Schemas and Worldviews Shared meaning systems, values, and beliefs abstracted from social structures and tools. This is the "macrosystem" level of shared cultural reality. Bartlett's schema theory; cultural feedback loops; path dependence Level 5 Individual Cognitive System Cognitive and emotional tendencies internalized by individuals, shaped by all above nested levels. This is the level accessible to individual psychological measurement. Internalization; schema-driven perception and memory

2.5 Summary

Based on reviewing and reflecting on existing theoretical achievements, this section proposes and systematically elaborates the "Psycho-Geographical Substratum Nesting Theory" (PGSNT). The theory's core contributions are: First, it establishes a new perspective on human-environment relations with the geographical substrate as the underlying logic, emphasizing its profound shaping effect on cultural-psychological prototypes. Second, it proposes four micro-transmission mechanisms—embodied cognition, social learning, cultural tools, and cognitive schemas—revealing the complete causal chain from physical environment to psychological structure. Third, it distinguishes three logical levels and five operational levels, balancing theoretical abstraction's holism with the model's operational feasibility. Fourth, it highlights the system's dynamic evolutionary characteristics, including both top-down constraints and shaping and bottom-up agency and reconstruction. Fifth, it incorporates the "digital substrate" as an important new dimension in the globalization and information age, expanding the theory's real-world explanatory power. In summary, PGSNT not only provides a multilevel, dynamic framework for understanding the generative mechanisms of mind and culture but also lays a theoretical foundation for subsequent empirical research and case analysis. The following sections will further explore the theory's application and validation in specific sociocultural contexts.

3 Empirical Illustrations—Mapping Theory onto the Real World

A theory's value ultimately depends on its ability to explain real-world phenomena. This section applies the five-level model of psycho-geographical substratum theory to systematically analyze four empirical cases from different cultural backgrounds and research fields, demonstrating the theory's explanatory power and applicability.

3.1 Agricultural Patterns and Cognitive Styles: Revisiting the "Rice Theory"

The "rice theory" proposed by Talhelm (2022) and colleagues provides a classic empirical case for this framework. The research found significant differences in thinking styles between southern and northern Chinese populations: southerners tend toward holistic thinking while northerners lean toward analytic thinking, attributing these differences to two distinct agricultural patterns. Applying our five-level model:

Level 1 (Substrate). China's geographical substrate features a north-south divide roughly along the Qinling-Huaihe line. The southern climate is warm and humid with abundant rainfall and dense river networks, providing ideal natural conditions for water-intensive rice cultivation. The north is relatively dry and cold, more suitable for drought-resistant wheat. This climatic and hydrological difference forms the geographical foundation for two different agricultural patterns. Level 2 (Survival and Embodiment). Rice cultivation, especially traditional paddy farming, is labor-intensive, requiring twice the labor input of wheat. More critically, it depends heavily on complex irrigation systems requiring community-wide cooperation to build, maintain, and allocate water resources (Krisnawati, Sujatna, Amalia, Soemantri, & Pamungkas, 2024). Farmers' daily labor itself is an "embodied" interdependence. Wheat cultivation, by contrast, is more individualized, with farmers able to complete most work independently. This daily physical practice deeply engrains cognitive patterns of "interdependence" versus "independence" into farmers' bodily experiences (Talhelm, Wu, Lyu, Zhou, & Zhang, 2023). Level 3 (Social Structure and Cultural Tools). To meet rice cultivation's high cooperation demands, southern villages developed corresponding social structures and cultural tools. The most important "tool" is the irrigation network itself, along with supporting social customs like labor exchange and mutual aid. These norms are transmitted across generations through social learning, becoming central to community life. Level 4 (Cultural Schemas). Living long-term in such highly cooperative social structures fosters a cultural schema emphasizing collectivism, interdependence, and interpersonal harmony. Individuals must constantly attend to others' needs and overall system functioning (such as water distribution in irrigation systems), naturally leading to a "holistic" worldview that focuses on contexts and relationships rather than isolated individuals (Hu & Yuan, 2015). Level 5 (Individual Cognition). This cultural schema ultimately becomes internalized as individual cognitive style. Psychological experiments demonstrate that individuals from rice-cultivation regions show more holistic thinking across various cognitive tasks (categorization, attribution), value individualism less, and exhibit stronger loyalty to in-group members (Talhelm, 2022).

This five-level analysis reveals that the phenomenon uncovered by "rice theory" is not simply "rice causes holistic thinking" but a complete causal chain initiated by the geographical substrate, transmitted through embodied practice, social construction, and schematic abstraction, and finally manifested at the individual level. Meanwhile, we should note criticisms of the theory—for instance, that the more accurate distinction may be "rice" versus "non-rice" agriculture rather than simply equating it with wheat (Hu & Yuan, 2015)—reminding us to maintain precision and caution when applying the model. PGSNT responds precisely to such issues: through multilevel nesting and multiple transmission mechanisms, it can preserve the eco-psychological links revealed by rice theory while avoiding its single-causality limitations, providing a more open and systematic explanation for the complex relationships among agricultural patterns, social institutions, and cultural psychology.

3.2 Ecological Vulnerability and Honor Culture: The Psychology of Violence in the American South

Nisbett and Cohen's (1996) research on the American Southern "culture of honor" provides another powerful illustration for this theory. They found that violent crime rates among white Southern men, especially homicide rates related to disputes and insults, were significantly higher than in the North, attributing this to a honor culture originating from pastoral economies. Applying the five-level model:

Level 1 (Substrate). Early settlers in the American South came primarily from the Scottish-Irish border region, migrating to the South's hilly and mountainous interior where legal order was weak, large-scale agriculture was unsuitable, but animal husbandry thrived (Nisbett & Cohen, 1996). Level 2 (Survival and Embodiment). The pastoral economy's characteristic is that wealth (livestock) is highly mobile and vulnerable to theft. In environments lacking effective legal protection, herders must rely on their own strength to defend property. This fosters an embodied posture of constant vigilance and readiness for violent self-defense (Nisbett & Cohen, 1996; Uskul, Cross, Günsoy, & Gul, 2018). Level 3 (Social Structure and Cultural Tools). In this ecology, a man's most important "cultural tool" is his reputation for being "not to be trifled with." Any form of insult cannot be ignored, as it is perceived as a test of strength. Consequently, society gradually develops a norm: violence must respond to provocation, or else one is seen as weak and invites greater aggression. This behavioral pattern is widely disseminated and imitated through social learning, with honor-defending violence receiving social approval and elevated status (Asif, Lahiani, Alhourani, Al Mahamed, & Abou Adel, 2025). Level 4 (Cultural Schema). These social norms eventually solidify into a powerful "honor culture" schema. In this schema, masculinity, reputation, and dignity are central to social status, and violence is a legitimate and necessary means to defend these core values (Uskul, Cross, Günsoy, & Gul, 2018). Level 5 (Individual Cognition). This schema is powerfully confirmed at the individual psychological level through experiments. When insulted, compared to Northerners, Southern white men cognitively perceive greater threats to their masculine reputation; emotionally feel more anger; physiologically exhibit higher cortisol (stress hormone) and testosterone (aggression-related) levels; and behaviorally show greater aggression (Cohen, Nisbett, Bowdle, & Schwarz, 1996).

This case again clearly demonstrates the complete chain from geographical substrate (vulnerable pastoral ecology) to survival strategy (violent self-defense), to social norms (reputation is everything), cultural schema (honor culture), and finally to unique psychological and physiological response patterns at the individual level.

3.3 Geographical Patterns and Social Fabric: A Case Study of Japanese Cultural Psychology

Japanese cultural psychology provides a more complex comprehensive case for this theory. Its unique collectivist tendencies, sensitivity to nature, and distinctive social customs can all be traced to profound geographical roots. Applying the five-level model:

Level 1 (Substrate). Japan is a typical island nation with a narrow, mountainous territory (only about 15% is arable land) and relatively scarce natural resources (Grant, 1998). Simultaneously, it sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, frequently suffering natural disasters including earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions (Pastrana-Huguet, Casado-Claro, & Gavari-Starkie, 2022). Level 2 (Survival and Embodiment). Land and resource scarcity forced Japan to develop highly intensive wetland rice agriculture requiring extremely efficient use of limited space (Francks, 2006; Nakane, 1970). Continuous disaster threats fostered a nationwide, deeply embodied disaster prevention culture—"bōsai bunka" (Pastrana-Huguet, Casado-Claro, & Gavari-Starkie, 2022). Both survival strategies demand exceptionally high community cooperation and coordination. Level 3 (Social Structure and Cultural Tools). To adapt to intensive agriculture, the traditional extended family system became the basic unit of production and labor (Francks, 2006; Nakane, 1970). In cities, resource and space constraints gave rise to public bathhouses, which not only solved practical bathing needs but also became important social venues for promoting neighborhood communication and community sentiment—so-called "naked communion" (Clark, 1994). To maintain order in crowded, interdependent communities, a complex and strict system of social etiquette and hierarchical norms also developed (Dalsky & Su, 2020). Level 4 (Cultural Schema). These social structures deeply rooted in survival practices collectively nurture a powerful cultural schema emphasizing group harmony, collectivism, and interdependence, while relatively suppressing individualism (Dalsky & Su, 2020). Simultaneously, perennial coexistence with unpredictable natural disasters may have shaped the Japanese sense of impermanence and the "wabi-sabi" aesthetic that finds beauty in imperfection and transience (Kasulis, 2004). Level 5 (Individual Cognition). This cultural schema is reflected at the individual psychological level as stronger interdependent self-construal and a holistic aesthetic preference for expressing contexts and backgrounds in artistic creation (Senzaki, Masuda, & Nand, 2014). Although academic debate exists over whether Japan is a typical collectivist society, its cultural psychology's high sensitivity to context and others is widely recognized (Dalsky & Su, 2020). Additionally, Japanese emphasis on the psychological healing effects of natural environments (such as forest bathing) also reflects the close connection between cultural psychology and geographical environment (Furuyashiki et al., 2019).

The Japanese cultural psychology case similarly demonstrates the layered progression from geographical substrate (island topography, resource scarcity, frequent disasters) to survival strategies (intensive rice cultivation and disaster prevention culture), to social structures (extended family system, public spaces, social etiquette), cultural schemas (group harmony, wabi-sabi aesthetics), and individual psychology and cognitive styles (interdependent self, holistic aesthetics, nature healing concepts). This process reveals how geographical patterns profoundly shape social fabric and ultimately sediment into unique cultural-psychological styles.

3.4 Soundscape and Embodied Expression: Ecological Roots of Mongolian Throat Singing and Guangxi Folk Songs

Ethnomusicology provides a unique, non-textual validation field for this theory, revealing how humanity's most primitive artistic expression—sound—is shaped by geographical environments. Applying the five-level model:

Level 1 (Substrate). Mongolia's vast, open steppes and mountains create a unique "soundscape" where sound travels far, with wind, water, and animal calls forming the environment's main melodies (Pegg, 2001). In contrast, Guangxi's karst landscape in China provides another mountainous, echo-rich acoustic environment (Qin & Widman, 2012). Level 2 (Survival and Embodiment). Nomadic life means continuous and profound sensory interaction with the natural environment (Pegg, 2001). Mongolian throat singing (Khoomei) is a highly embodied vocal technique where singers precisely control vocal organs (larynx, tongue, lips) to simultaneously produce a fundamental frequency and multiple high-frequency overtones, aiming to imitate and echo natural sounds—wind howling, streams murmuring, birds chirping (Pegg, 2001). Guangxi's mountain songs are similarly connected to mountain labor and social life, with their high, clear melodies suitable for transmission across valleys (Qin & Widman, 2012). Level 3 (Social Structure and Cultural Tools). Throat singing techniques themselves are "cultural tools" transmitted across generations. Some specific styles are even directly named after landscape features (e.g., kargyraa, meaning "roaring" or "hoarse") or nomadic activities (e.g., ezengileer, imitating horse stirrup rhythms), explicitly linking vocal tools to their ecological origins (Levin & Süzükei, 2006). Level 4 (Cultural Schema). These vocal practices are deeply rooted in an animistic worldview where everything in nature (mountains, rivers, trees) has spirit, and sound is the medium for communicating with these spirits (Levin & Süzükei, 2006). Music is therefore not just entertainment but a ritual behavior of "mimetic exchange" with natural spirits (Taussig, 2018). Level 5 (Individual Cognition). The act of throat singing itself is a direct, audible manifestation of a cognitive system deeply attuned to the geographical substrate. It demonstrates how human auditory, vocal, and entire bodily systems can be shaped into precise instruments that "read" and "reproduce" their ecological environment.

The contrasting cases of Mongolian throat singing and Guangxi folk songs vividly reveal how sound, as humanity's most primitive artistic expression, directly maps and responds to its ecological environment. From the acoustic patterns of steppes and mountains, to the embodied practices of nomadism and farming, to vocal techniques and social transmission as cultural tools, to animistic cultural schemas and individual cognitive experience, music demonstrates unique ecological embeddedness. It is not merely a product of aesthetics and sociality but audible testimony to the deep interaction between human bodies and the natural world.

Through comparative analysis of these four distinct cases, we can identify a common underlying logic: a specific geographical substrate (Level 1) poses particular adaptive challenges that are resolved through specific embodied survival patterns (Level 2). These solutions are encoded as social structures and cultural tools (Level 3), rationalized and abstracted into cultural schemas (Level 4), and ultimately profoundly shape individual psychology and cognition (Level 5). This parallel structure across cases provides strong convergent validation for our proposed five-level nested model.

4 Theoretical Reflections and Future Directions

4.1 Theoretical Integration and Contributions

The core contribution of "psycho-geographical substratum theory" lies in providing an integrative theoretical framework. First, it effectively connects macro-level geographical and anthropological theories with micro-level cognitive psychological mechanisms (Ellen, 1988). By grounding the "mutual construction" process of culture and mind in a solid physical substrate, the theory provides concrete origins and transmission paths for this somewhat abstract concept (Götz et al., 2025). Second, it offers psychology a powerful, non-reductionist alternative that avoids the pitfalls of long-discredited environmental determinism while challenging the geographically decontextualized universalist paradigm that has long dominated psychology. Finally, through its nested structure, the theory encourages researchers to adopt a systematic, cross-level perspective to understand human behavior, recognizing that individual psychology, social norms, and ecological environment form an inseparable whole.

4.2 Challenges and Limitations: Quantification Dilemmas in Cultural Psychology

Despite the theory's broad explanatory potential, it faces serious challenges common to cultural psychology when subjected to empirical testing. First is the operationalization challenge. How to transform abstract cultural constructs like "cultural schemas" or "interdependence" into reliably measurable variables without introducing researchers' own cultural biases is a major challenge (Van de Vijver & Leung, 2021). Many psychological measurement tools were born from Western cultural backgrounds; their concepts and items may not hold equivalent meaning in other cultures, and direct application can lead to erroneous conclusions. For example, the famous "marshmallow test" in cross-cultural research found that children's performance differences in delayed gratification across cultures may reflect different cultural norms (e.g., Cameroonian culture emphasizing hierarchy and obedience versus German culture valuing autonomy and self-expression) rather than pure self-control ability (Lamm et al., 2018). Second is sampling limitations. Current cross-cultural psychology research remains largely confined to simple "East vs. West" comparisons, not only neglecting enormous internal differences within these cultural regions (such as social class, religion, urban-rural differences) but also ignoring other vast cultural areas worldwide (Grossmann & Na, 2014). Psychology's "WEIRD" sampling problem severely limits the generalizability of research conclusions (Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010). Finally, causal inference difficulties. This theory proposes a historical causal chain spanning hundreds or thousands of years, while most psychological research relies on cross-sectional data, making strict causal proof nearly impossible. What we can observe are mostly correlations, and although alternative explanations such as genetics and language can be partially ruled out through sophisticated research designs (like Talhelm's comparisons across different Chinese regions), they can never be completely eliminated (Varnum et al., 2010). Additionally, in public perception, culture and race concepts are often conflated, posing extra challenges for clearly communicating research conclusions about cultural origins (Lo & Sasaki, 2024).

4.3 Future Research Directions: Globalization and the Emergence of Digital Substrate

The temporal dimension of ecological systems theory reminds us that environments shaping human psychology are not static. In today's globalized and digitalized world, two new forces are profoundly reshaping the relationship between mind and geography. First is globalization and cultural hybridization. Transnational media, global trade, and population migration are creating new "mediascapes" and "ethnoscapes" that transcend geographical limitations (Appadurai, 1996). On one hand, this may lead to the spread of dominant cultures (typically Western) and homogenization of local cultures; on the other hand, it has spawned unprecedented cultural fusion and hybridization phenomena, challenging the uniqueness of cultural models derived from specific local physical substrates (Appadurai, 1996). Second, and more revolutionary, is the emergence of the digital substrate. The Internet, particularly social media, is constructing a new, virtual reality layer. This "digital substrate" follows laws fundamentally different from physical substrates: it is spatially decentralized, temporally instantaneous, and its information flow is carefully regulated by algorithms. It provides unprecedented platforms for social learning, dramatically accelerates cultural feedback loops, and may be breeding entirely new cognitive styles, social norms, and even psychological identities (Zuboff, 2019). Future research must focus on the tension between these two forces: on one side, the slow-changing cultural inertia rooted in thousands of years of agricultural and pastoral history and deeply embedded in the geographical substrate; on the other, the powerful cultural acceleration from the emerging digital substrate that changes daily. Is the digital world rewriting our ancient ecological heritage, or are our inherited psychological patterns shaping how we use (and are used by) digital tools? Answering this question will be key to understanding human psychology in the 21st century.

4.4 Application Prospects: Providing Theoretical Support for Forging a Strong Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation

The Psycho-Geographical Substratum Nesting Theory not only has universal explanatory power for cross-cultural psychology but also offers new theoretical support for understanding ethnic relations in the Chinese context. China's vast territory features complex and diverse geographical patterns. It is precisely this geographical substrate—not religion, language, or contingent events—that has shaped diverse survival modes and psycho-cultural patterns, historically giving rise to a multi-ethnic coexistence pattern. In other words, ethnic diversity is first and foremost a product of geographical-psycho-cultural nesting. Meanwhile, another important logic has emerged in the Chinese nation's development: while diverse geographical substrates have produced differences, unified political structures and frequent exchanges, interactions, and integration have continuously generated new shared substrates, gradually integrating multi-ethnic society into a "pluralistic unity" whole. The psycho-geographical nesting framework can reveal this evolutionary mechanism: the embodied practices and cultural schemas formed by various ethnic groups based on geographical conditions, especially after the founding of New China, have continuously exchanged and integrated in economic, social, and cultural development, gradually forming a new shared substrate—the "community schema"—which is ultimately internalized at the psychological level as a consciousness of the Chinese national community. Therefore, the consciousness of the Chinese national community is a historical inevitability deeply rooted in the dynamic nesting mechanism of geography-psycho-culture, the inevitable result of both China's diverse geographical patterns and ethnic exchange and integration.

In the new era, this theory inspires us: to promote ethnic integration and resolve ethnic contradictions, we must simultaneously focus on the interactive mechanisms among geographical patterns, social practices, and psychological schemas. For example, narrowing regional gaps and promoting resource sharing lays a new "material substrate" for common development; promoting deep interactions among ethnic groups in education, culture, and social life generates new embodied experiences and social learning; strengthening the shared symbolic system and value identification of Chinese culture forms cross-regional and cross-ethnic shared schemas. Only through these combined pathways can we fundamentally forge a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation. This means that forging this consciousness is not only a systematic project for consolidating and developing great unity among Chinese ethnic groups but also an inevitable choice that aligns with the historical logic and psycho-cultural evolution nurtured by China's diverse geographical patterns.

This paper proposes and elaborates the Psycho-Geographical Substratum Nesting Theory to emphasize a core viewpoint: understanding the human mind must return to the world it relies on and grasp its generative logic within the dynamic relationship among geography, mind, and culture. The theory provides a comprehensive, integrative, and open framework that connects macro-ecological forces with micro-cognitive processes while revealing the stable mechanisms and change logics behind cultural evolutionary dynamics, thereby pushing psychological research toward a new paradigm of cross-culturalism and deep ecological embeddedness. In the Chinese context, this theory demonstrates unique explanatory power. China's vast territory and diverse geographical patterns have nurtured a multi-ethnic coexistence pattern; unified political structures and long-term exchange and integration continuously promote psychological and cultural fusion. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, the formation and development of the Chinese national community is the trend of history and the will of the people, reflected in five dimensions: shared bloodline, shared beliefs, shared culture, shared economic interdependence, and shared emotions. The Psycho-Geographical Substratum Nesting Theory provides solid theoretical support for this judgment: shared bloodline reflects survival communities shaped by geographical patterns; shared beliefs originate from institutional integration and social interaction; shared culture reveals schema reconstruction through exchange and mutual learning; shared economic interdependence highlights the supporting role of material substrates and regional complementarity; shared emotions reflect the psychological mechanisms of interaction-fusion-internalization. Looking back, by revealing the deep connections among mind, geographical patterns, and cultural evolution, the Psycho-Geographical Substratum Nesting Theory not only promotes interdisciplinary integration in psychological research but also provides theoretical grounds for serving national strategies and forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation. Future Chinese psychology can only contribute new wisdom and strength to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the progress of human civilization by building bridges between mind and geography, inheriting long-standing eco-cultural foundations while responding to the challenges of globalization and digitalization. This is the theoretical consciousness and practical commitment of Chinese psychology in the new era.

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