Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mindmetoo]

Wiki has a nice list of biases:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases

It got me thinking what kind of biases are common among ESL/expat types.

1) Comparing the best of your country to the worst of Korea: I compare the worst of Korean business practices to the most honest corporations in North America. You compare the cleanest parts of your city to the dirtiest parts of Seoul. You compare the most polite people back home to the rudest people in Korea.

2) Attributing to malice what can be explained by incompetence or lack of planning: You're so coked up thinking your director is out to rip you off, you are ready to interpret any last minute-ism or poor planning to some orchestrated plan to rip you off.

3) Pricing bias: This one might be reserved to long timers. You forget inflation is also happening at home. So many things seemed expensive to me here in Korea. Milk, bread, baby powder. However last time I went back to Canada, I noticed prices had risen on those products as well and prices were close to Korean prices.

4) Your kids have adult motives: One thing we learned in child psychology. It's very easy to attribute adult motives to children, even babies. Your kids might not be really out to get you.

5) That Korean is about to do something weird to me: Just takes a couple real experiences and you begin to brace yourself. A Korean might be being helpful, like returning an umbrella you forgot. But you quickly assume he's rushing up to you to ask you for english lessons.

6) It can't be better here and Koreans are silly to think so: Koreans are biased to think they have something better. You're better informed holding your belief your national product is better. Korean talking about how superior Korean beef is. And you think "silly, Korean. Why doesn't he know Alberta beef is the best?" But how do you know Alberta beef is better. Ever note a Texan or someone from Montana vouching for the quality of Alberta beef? It's only "better" because all the other Canadians around you reinforce that bias.

Got any?

[RACETRAITOR]

Good post. I'll have to waste a couple of hours at work tomorrow skimming through that page to see if I can find a few examples.

[Julius]

[faster]

This is a good thing to do every couple months. Nice post.

[Flash Ipanema]

What about the weekly posts comparing the least attractive western females to the most beautiful Korean women.

[Atavistic]

[endofthewor1d]

[Ya-ta Boy]

I'll add one:

7) It isn't always about me. I was reminded of this one on the bus the other day. A woman got on, walked down the aisle, looked at the empty seat next to me...and walked past. Ah, a racist, xenophobic insecure rat! But no, when I was getting off a couple of stops down the street, she was chatting away with another woman who was obviously an old friend. In short, other people have their own motives that don't necessarily relate in any way to me.

[Paji eh Wong]

Good list.

[VanIslander]

gawd that's so different than my own mental biases

i share only #6

[Barking Mad Lord Snapcase]

[Dome Vans]

Only number 1 really and only very slightly.

I'm not really that fond of England and not too sure what redeeming features there are to it. But the one thing that really gets me, is the driving. There are very bad drivers in England as there is everywhere, but I just quietly fume, when I see cars, just pulling out in front of you and not looking, maybe they looked first and you see them looking but they still pull out slowly. Causing you to break suddenly. If this happened in England, you'd tailgate them for miles, till they or you run out of petrol, and then we get a bit of lovely road rage.

And the scooters in Seoul, when I visit. Straight thru the lights, not even looking. It just defies all belief.

I can't really comment on other Asian countries because I've not visited them but are they just as bad, or worse? I just can't can't get my head round the mentality. It's as if, if there's a crash, they'd say: