Cross-cultural psychology aims to study the relationship between culture and human behavior through both cultural (within-culture) and comparative (across-culture) approaches. There have been two main conceptions of culture: initially as shared ways of life among groups, and later as more subjective patterns of meanings embodied in symbols. A symbiosis is possible between studying culture-behavior relationships within and across cultures, with cross-cultural psychology encompassing both. Comparison across cultures is needed to seek generalizations about human behavior.