Connecting and separating mind-sets: culture as situated cognition.
People perceive meaningful wholes and later separate out constituent parts (D. Navon, 1977). Yet there are cross-national differences in whether a focal target or integrated whole is first perceived. Rather than construe these differences as fixed, the proposed culture-as-situated-cognition model explains these differences as due to whether a collective or individual mind-set is cued at the moment of observation. Eight studies demonstrated that when cultural mind-set and task demands are congruent, easier tasks are accomplished more quickly and more difficult or time-constrained tasks are accomplished more accurately (


METHODS
Koreans, Korean Americans; STUDY 2: Hong Kong Chinese; STUDY 3: European- and Asian-heritage Americans; STUDY 4: Americans;


METHODS
5 Hong Kong Chinese; STUDY 6: Americans; STUDY 7: Norwegians; STUDY 8: African-, European-, and Asian-heritage Americans). Meta-analyses (d = .34) demonstrated homogeneous effects across geographic place (East-West), racial-ethnic group, task, and sensory mode-differences are cued in the moment. Contrast and separation are salient individual mind-set procedures, resulting in focus on a single target or main point. Assimilation and connection are salient collective mind-set procedures, resulting in focus on multiplicity and integration.
Oyserman
Daphna
D
School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA. daphna.oyserman@umich.edu
Sorensen
Nicholas
N
Reber
Rolf
R
Chen
Sylvia Xiaohua
SX
D001213:Asian / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003463:Cues; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007723:Korea / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway / Q000208:ethnology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014481:United States / Q000208:ethnology