How
East
and
West
think
in
profoundly
different
ways
It
takes
but
a
little
look
at
East
and
West
to
realize
it
is
becoming
increasingly
obvious
that
history
,
geography
,
and
culture
can
shape
the
way
we
think
,
perceive
,
and
interpret
the
world
around
us
.
Research
has
shown
that
even
the
kinds
of
crops
our
ancestors
used
to
farm
can
shape
our
patterns
of
behavior
.
Wherever
we
live
,
a
greater
awareness
of
these
forces
can
help
us
all
understand
our
own
minds
a
little
better
.
'WEIRD'
minds
For
many
years
,
scientists
had
ignored
'global
diversity
of
thinking'
assuming
that
all
people
are
just
the
same
.
In
2010
,
an
influential
article
in
the
journal
Behavioral
and
Brain
Sciences
reported
that
the
vast
majority
of
psychological
subjects
had
been
'Western
,
Educated
,
Industrialized
,
Rich
,
and
Democratic'
or
'WEIRD'
,
for
short
.
Most
of
them
were
American
undergraduate
students
hoping
to
gain
pocket
money
or
course
credits
by
giving
up
their
time
to
take
part
in
these
experiments
.
The
assumption
had
been
that
this
select
group
of
people
could
represent
universal
truths
about
human
nature
.
If
that
were
true
,
the
Western
would
have
been
unimportant
.
However
,
the
small
number
of
available
studies
examining
people
from
other
cultures
would
suggest
the
opposite
.
West
vs
.
East
What
characterizes
Westerners
then
?
When
asked
about
their
attitudes
and
behaviors
,
people
in
Western
societies
seem
to
have
a
more
individualistic
approach
and
value
personal
success
over
group
achievement
,
which
makes
them
crave
self
-
esteem
and
pursue
personal
happiness
.
But
this
for
self
-
validation
is
also
associated
with
overconfidence
,
with
many
experiments
showing
that
WEIRD
participants
are
likely
to
their
abilities
.
For
instance
,
94%
of
American
professors
claimed
they
were
"
better
than
average
.
"
This
tendency
for
-
seems
to
be
almost
completely
absent
in
studies
across
east
Asia
;
in
fact
,
in
some
cases
the
participants
even
their
abilities
.
Personal
choice
and
freedom
appear
to
be
more
appreciated
in
more
individualistic
societies
.
As
a
simple
example
,
imagine
that
you
see
a
picture
of
someone
tall
intimidating
someone
smaller
.
Without
any
additional
information
,
Westerners
are
more
likely
to
think
the
big
guy
is
a
nasty
person
bullying
the
other
one
.
"
Whereas
if
you
are
thinking
holistically
,
you
would
think
other
things
might
be
going
on
between
those
people
:
maybe
the
big
guy
is
the
boss
or
the
father
,
"
explains
Joseph
Henrich
at
the
University
of
British
Columbia
,
who
was
one
of
the
study
?
s
authors
.
But
why
did
the
different
thinking
styles
emerge
in
the
first
place
?
The
obvious
explanation
would
be
that
they
simply
reflect
the
philosophies
popularized
in
each
region
over
time
.
Western
philosophers
emphasized
freedom
and
independence
,
whereas
Eastern
traditions
like
Taoism
tended
to
focus
on
concepts
of
unity
.
East
vs
.
East
What
about
the
east
itself
?
Surprisingly
enough
,
the
thinking
orientation
of
28
different
provinces
of
China
examined
recently
by
Thomas
Talhelm
at
the
University
of
Chicago
seem
to
have
been
shaped
by
and
reflect
the
local
agriculture
of
the
region
.
How
is
that
so
?
Talhelm
said
he
was
first
inspired
by
his
own
experiences
in
the
country
.
While
visiting
Guangzhou
in
the
south
,
he
found
that
strangers
would
be
much
more
.
"
If
I
were
eating
alone
people
would
come
up
and
talk
to
me
,
"
he
said
.
Whereas
those
in
the
northern
city
of
Beijing
tended
to
be
more
.
Looking
for
an
explanation
,
he
realized
that
one
difference
could
be
the
kind
of
crop
grown
in
the
region
:
rice
in
the
most
southern
areas
,
and
wheat
in
the
north
.
Growing
rice
requires
far
greater
cooperation
:
it
is
labor
intensive
and
requires
complex
irrigation
systems
spanning
many
different
farms
.
Wheat
farming
,
by
contrast
,
takes
about
half
the
amount
of
work
and
depends
on
rainfall
rather
than
irrigation
,
meaning
that
farmers
don't
need
to
collaborate
with
their
neighbors
,
and
can
focus
on
their
own
crops
.
It
seems
to
have
shaped
the
way
people
act
towards
one
another
in
those
regions
.
And
what
shapes
the
mindset
of
people
in
your
country
?
How
did
you
do
?
FFA Creed Paragraph 3
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