Article Addendum: Ecocultural basis of cognition: Farmers and fishermen are more holistic than herders

It has been hypothesized that interdependent (versus independent) social orientations breed more holistic (versus analytic) cognitions. If so, farming and small-scale fishing, which require more cooperation (and represent a more interdependent mode of being) than does herding, may encourage a more holistic mode of cognition. To test this hypothesis we compared responses to tasks measuring categorization, reasoning, and attention by members of herding, fishing, and farming communities in the eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey. The samples did not differ from each other in important demographic variables such as nationality, ethnicity, language, and religion, as well as age and education. As hypothesized, in all three tasks, results indicated a greater degree of holistic mode of cognition exhibited by the members of fishing and farming communities than members of herding communities. The findings support the notion that level of special interdependence fostered by ecocultural settings is likely to shape the ways in which individuals perceive and attend to their surrounding world

Minimal Social Cues in the Dictator Game

This paper reports results of an incentivized laboratory experiment manipulating an extremely weak social cue in the Dictator Game. Prior to making their decision, we present dictators with a simple visual stimlulus: either three dots in a “watching-eyes” configuration, or three dots in a neutral configuration. The watching-eyes configuration is suggestive of a schematic face—a stimuli that is known to weakly activate the fusiform face area of the brain (Tong, et al., 2000; Bednar and Miikkulainen, 2003; Johnson and Morton, 1991). Given the experimental evidence for automatic priming of watching eyes of others, it is thus reasonable to hypothesize that even though the social cue is very weak, this activation might be sufficient to produce a significant change in social behavior. Our results demonstrate that such a weak social cue does increase giving behavior—even under conditions of complete anonymity—and this difference in behavior across subjects is entirely explained by differences in the choice behavior of males. In fact, males in our treatment condition, who typically act more selfishly than do females in conditions of complete anonymity, give twice as much to anonymous recipients than females give.dictator game, social preferences, laboratory experiment, social distance

Cultural shaping of neural responses: Feedback‐related potentials vary with self‐construal and face priming

Previous work shows that when an image of a face is presented immediately prior to each trial of a speeded cognitive task (face‐priming), the error‐related negativity (ERN) is upregulated for Asians, but it is downregulated for Caucasians. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that images of “generalized other” vary cross‐culturally such that they evoke anxiety for Asians, whereas they serve as safety cues for Caucasians. Here, we tested whether the cross‐cultural variation in the face‐priming effect would be observed in a gambling paradigm. Caucasian Americans, Asian Americans, and Asian sojourners were exposed to a brief flash of a schematic face during a gamble. For Asian Americans, face‐priming resulted in significant increases of both negative‐going deflection of ERP upon negative feedback (feedback‐related negativity [FRN]) and positive‐going deflection of ERP upon positive feedback (feedback‐related positivity [FRP]). For Caucasian Americans, face‐priming showed a significant reversal, decreasing both FRN and FRP. The cultural difference in the face‐priming effect in FRN and FRP was partially mediated by interdependent self‐construal. Curiously, Asian sojourners showed a pattern similar to the one for Caucasian Americans. Our findings suggest that culture shapes neural pathways in both systematic and highly dynamic fashion.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116365/1/psyp12554.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116365/2/psyp12554_am.pd

Cultural Neuroeconomics of Intertemporal Choice

According to theories of cultural neuroscience, Westerners and Easterners may have distinct styles of cognition (e.g., different allocation of attention). Previous research has shown that Westerners and Easterners tend to utilize analytical and holistic cognitive styles, respectively. On the other hand, little is known regarding the cultural differences in neuroeconomic behavior. For instance, economic decisions may be affected by cultural differences in neurocomputational processing underlying attention; however, this area of neuroeconomics has been largely understudied. In the present paper, we attempt to bridge this gap by considering the links between the theory of cultural neuroscience and neuroeconomic theory\ud of the role of attention in intertemporal choice. We predict that (i) Westerners are more impulsive and inconsistent in intertemporal choice in comparison to Easterners, and (ii) Westerners more steeply discount delayed monetary losses than Easterners. We examine these predictions by utilizing a novel temporal discounting model based on Tsallis' statistics (i.e. a q-exponential model). Our preliminary analysis of temporal discounting of gains and losses by Americans and Japanese confirmed the predictions from the cultural neuroeconomic theory. Future study directions, employing computational modeling via neural networks, are briefly outlined and discussed

Physiological Correlates of Choice‐Induced Dissonance: An Exploration of HPA‐Axis Responses

Choice can produce a negatively arousing cognitive conflict (called dissonance), which is thought to motivate the chooser to spread their preferences for the relevant options (called Spreading of Alternatives, or SA). The current work aimed to determine the relationship between HPA‐axis activity and both choice‐induced dissonance and its reduction (i.e. SA) among individuals with varying cultural backgrounds. European–Americans and Asians made a choice between two equally attractive CDs either in the presence of a cue indicative of social eyes (i.e. public‐choice condition) or in the absence thereof (i.e. private‐choice condition). As predicted, European–Americans and Asians showed a reliable SA primarily in the private and public choice conditions, respectively. Importantly, a sharp decline of salivary cortisol was observed over the span of 30 min, and, moreover, this decline was reliably predicted by the magnitude of SA regardless of either culture or the choice being private vs. public. These results suggest that although choice‐induced dissonance is too weak to elicit an HPA‐axis stress response, SA is associated with variability in the decline of salivary cortisol during the laboratory task. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113729/1/bdm1845.pd

Personality change across the life span: Insights from a cross‐cultural, longitudinal study

ObjectivePersonality traits are characterized by both stability and change across the life span. Many of the mechanisms hypothesized to cause personality change (e.g., the timing of various social roles, physical health, and cultural values) differ considerably across culture. Moreover, personality consistency is valued highly in Western societies, but less so in non‐Western societies. Few studies have examined how personality changes differently across cultures.MethodWe employed a multilevel modeling approach to examine age‐related changes in Big Five personality traits in two large panel studies of Americans (n = 6,259; Mage = 46.85; 52.5% female) and Japanese (n = 1,021; Mage = 54.28; 50.9% female). Participants filled out personality measures twice, over either a 9‐year interval (for Americans) or a 4‐year period (for Japanese).ResultsChanges in Agreeableness and Openness to Experience did not systematically vary across cultures; changes in Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness did vary across cultures. Further, Japanese show significantly greater fluctuation in the level of all the traits tested over time than Americans.ConclusionsThe culture‐specific social, ecological, and life‐course factors that are associated with personality change are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144245/1/jopy12332_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144245/2/jopy12332.pd

DRD4 polymorphisms modulate reward positivity and P3a in a gambling task: Exploring a genetic basis for cultural learning

Prior work shows that people respond more plastically to environmental influences, including cultural influences, if they carry the 7 or 2‐repeat (7/2R) allelic variant of the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4). The 7/2R carriers are thus more likely to endorse the norms and values of their culture. So far, however, mechanisms underlying this moderation of cultural acquisition by DRD4 are unclear. To address this gap in knowledge, we tested the hypothesis that DRD4 modulates the processing of reward cues existing in the environment. About 72 young adults, preselected for their DRD4 status, performed a gambling task, while the electroencephalogram was recorded. Principal components of event‐related potentials aligned to the Reward‐Positivity (associated with bottom‐up processing of reward prediction errors) and frontal‐P3 (associated with top‐down attention) were both significantly more positive following gains than following losses. As predicted, the gain‐loss differences were significantly larger for 7/2R carriers than for noncarriers. Also, as predicted, the cultural backgrounds of the participants (East Asian vs. European American) did not moderate the effects of DRD4. Our findings suggest that the 7/2R variant of DRD4 enhances (a) the detection of reward prediction errors and (b) controlled attention that updates the context for the reward, thereby suggesting one possible mechanism underlying the DRD4 × Culture interactions.Is there a genetic basis for cultural learning? Recent work suggests carriers of 7‐ or 2‐repeat allele of the dopamine DRD4 are more likely than non‐carriers to acquire their culture’s beliefs and practices. We show carriers are more closely attuned to reward signals compared to non‐carriers. This finding offers a possible missing link in the analysis of the co‐evolutionary dynamic between genes and culture.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162723/2/psyp13623_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162723/1/psyp13623.pd

Relational mobility predicts faster spread of COVID-19: a 39-country study

It has become increasingly clear that COVID-19 is transmitted between individuals. It stands to reason that the spread of the virus depends on sociocultural ecologies that facilitate or inhibit social contact. In particular, the community-level tendency to engage with strangers and freely choose friends, called relational mobility, creates increased opportunities to interact with a larger and more variable range of other people. It may therefore be associated with a faster spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Here, we tested this possibility by analyzing growth curves of confirmed cases of and deaths due to COVID-19 in the first 30 days of the outbreaks in 39 countries. We found that growth was significantly accelerated as a function of a country-wise measure of relational mobility. This relationship was robust either with or without a set of control variables, including demographic variables, reporting bias, testing availability, and cultural dimensions of individualism, tightness, and government efficiency. Policy implications are also discussed

Aging and Wisdom: Culture Matters

People from different cultures vary in the ways they approach social conflicts, with Japanese being more motivated to maintain interpersonal harmony and avoid conflicts than Americans are. Such cultural differences have developmental consequences for reasoning about social conflict. In the study reported here, we interviewed random samples of Americans from the Midwest United States and Japanese from the larger Tokyo area about their reactions to stories of intergroup and interpersonal conflicts. Responses showed that wisdom (e.g., recognition of multiple perspectives, the limits of personal knowledge, and the importance of compromise) increased with increasing age among Americans, but older age was not associated with wiser responses among Japanese. Younger and middle-aged Japanese showed greater use of wise-reasoning strategies than younger and middle-aged Americans did. This cultural difference was weaker for older participants’ reactions to interpersonal conflicts and was actually reversed for intergroup conflicts. This research has important implications for the study of aging, cultural psychology, and wisdom.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Cultural constructions of happiness: theory and emprical evidence

In a review of recent cross-cultural evidence on happiness and well-being, the authors identified substantial cultural variations in (1) cultural meanings of happiness, (2) motivations underlying happiness, and (3) predictors of happiness. Specifically, in North American cultural contexts, happiness tends to be defined in terms of personal achievement. Individuals engaging in these cultures are motivated to maximize the experience of positive affect. Moreover, happiness is best predicted by self-esteem. In contrast, in East Asian cultural contexts, happiness tends to be defined in terms of interpersonal connectedness. Individuals engaging in these cultures are motivated to maintain a balance between positive and negative affects. Moreover, happiness is best predicted by perceived embeddedness of the self in a social relationship. Directions for future research are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43061/1/10902_2004_Article_5278785.pd