Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Alyallen]

Study: Americans Don't Understand Others
Corey Binns
Special to LiveScience
LiveScience.com
Wed Jul 18, 10:05 AM ET


Rugged American individualism could hinder our ability to understand other peoples' point of view, a new study suggests.

And in contrast, the researchers found that Chinese are more skilled at understanding other people's perspectives, possibly because they live in a more "collectivist" society.


"This cultural difference affects the way we communicate," said study co-author and cognitive psychologist Boaz Keysar of the University of Chicago.


Simple study

The study, though oversimplified compared to real life, was instructive. Keysar and his colleagues arranged two blocks on a table so participants could see both. However, a piece of cardboard obstructed the view of one block so a "director," sitting across from the participant, could only see one block.


When the director asked 20 American participants (none of Asian descent) to move a block, most were confused as to which block to move and did not take into account the director's perspective. Even though they could have deduced that, from the director's seat, only one block was on the table.


Most of the 20 Chinese participants, however, were not confused by the hidden block and knew exactly which block the director was referring to. While following directions was relatively simple for the Chinese, it took Americans twice as long to move a block.

"That strong, egocentric communication of Westerners was nonexistent when we looked at Chinese," Keysar said. "The Chinese were very much able to put themselves in the shoes of another when they were communicating."

The results are detailed in the July issue of the journal Psychological Science.


Collectivist societies, such as the Chinese, place more value on the needs of the group and less on the autonomy of the individual. In these societies, understanding other peoples' experiences is a more critical social skill than it is among typically more individualist Americans.


Gross oversimplification

"Of course, these are very gross oversimplifications," said Keysar. "Even in America, you can find collectivist societies. For example, working class people tend to be much more collective."


Culture appears to direct our eyes to read others' emotions, too.


Psychologists at Hokkaido University in Japan have found that Japanese gaze at the shape of a person's eyes, while Americans focus on the mouth. When people from the two cultures interact, these crisscrossed sightlines can lead to miscommunication.


"We all know people from different cultures are different. This is not new. But what research is now showing is how they're different and what are the implications," Keysar told LiveScience. "If we are aware of how we think differently, this can go a long way toward not allowing these differences to get in the way of reaching mutual understanding."

http://tinyurl.com/ywq8k3

[Kuros]

I IMed this story to a friend of mine in Beijing who works alongside Americans, Australians, and French as well as fellow Chinese on a daily basis.

[Junior]

Each culture is its own disadvantages. Americans make up for theirs by other skills which asians totally lack. Independent thinking and ingenuity for one.

[Tony_Balony]

I don't understand this "experiment". Does scientific proof shows that Americans are fat and stupid and Chinese people are racially superior and then when fat stupid Westerns talk to people, they focus on the other speaker's bosom, if they have any.

[stevemcgarrett]

Alyallen:

Really desperate to try to score an anti-American point, aren't you?

Brits have the least effective foreign language education in Western Europe. Does that make them myopic too?

Generalizing from isolated studies is of dubious value. Canadians are more individualistic than Chinese, too. So what does that say about them?

[Alyallen]

[Gopher]

Most human beings and peoples and cultures do not understand Others. Most human beings and peoples and cultures suffer from ethnocentrism, even racism in many cases.

Singling out Americans for this is not any more helpful than it would be if you singled out the evening of 15 December and pointed out with much fanfare -- claiming to have discovered something -- that it got dark after the sun went down.

We know that people have a hard time understanding Others, OP. And we also know that it gets dark at night, too. Why should it be any different in America?

[Junior]

[sundubuman]

I just don't understand any of you.

Is that because I am an American?

Phew!!!... glad to finally clear all of that up.

[Big_Bird]

They don't understand because they are wicked and nasty, like Gopher, fora example.

[On the other hand]

The study is an interesting one. However, the author's interpretation sounds like an aging hippie romanticizing supposedly less-materialistic and communitarian "eastern cultures" that he's only ever heard about on public television.

[On the other hand]

And Allyallen...

I'm getting major sidescroll on this thread, I think from your url. Maybe give tinyurl a try?

www.tinyurl.com

[Alyallen]

[Alyallen]

[desultude]

I don't want to get into the larger argument here- I'm an American and am having a hard time understanding your various perspectives.

But one thing I have found disconcerting and sometimes amusing in Korea is that Koreans often think they understand you, have "read your face", etc. only to have no idea what is going on with you. I have been offered water, told I must be ill, because I am pale(!) and numerous other mis-interpretations of my subjective self.

Facial expressions and body language vary cross-culturally, and this can make for some amusing misunderstandings.