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2007-07-18 Home Front: Culture Wars

Study: Americans Don't Understand Others

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Posted by Seafarious 2007-07-18 10:38|| || Front Page|| [11124 views ] Top

#1 The other side of the coin is Americans come from the rest of the world so we have a particularly good insite into the madness our forefathers left. We also have tourists and UN Ambassadors all over the place and a media constantly telling us how much better they are over there and how foul we are.

Compared to other nations like China that are insular and closed and have minimal exposure to other cultures.

I think perhaps American's understand others better than those others would like to think.

Posted by rjschwarz 2007-07-18 11:10|| 2007-07-18 11:10|| Front Page Top

#2 What. A. Crock.

Posted by Rex Mundi 2007-07-18 11:19|| 2007-07-18 11:19|| Front Page Top

#3 I call BS on the whole thing. I've heard this over and over and have yet to hear anyone wonder why other people have so much trouble understanding Americans. This is typical quackery that equates agreement or tolerance with understanding. If you don't agree you don't understand.

The experiment also proves that Chinese are much more subservient to authority (aka "the director") and less likely to act on their own perceptions.

Americans will point out that the emperor has no clothes; or that there are two blocks even if the "director" doesn't know that.

Then, of course, there is the implication that collectivism is superior to individualism.

Bah to the whole damn thing.

Posted by AlanC">AlanC 2007-07-18 11:21|| 2007-07-18 11:21|| Front Page Top

#4 "collectivist", "working class" Typical commie bullsh*t self-justification.

Posted by Spot">Spot 2007-07-18 11:29|| 2007-07-18 11:29|| Front Page Top

#5 Jeez, doc, looks like we need more data. Better put in for another grant. And park the Mercedes out back where no one can see it. Or maybe you could block it off with a piece of cardboard so us dumbass Americans can't see it...

Posted by tu3031 2007-07-18 11:34|| 2007-07-18 11:34|| Front Page Top

#6 I don't understand this - is Boaz Keysar an American or not?

Posted by Percy Snusotle2643 2007-07-18 11:54|| 2007-07-18 11:54|| Front Page Top

#7 "Pop Psych" strikes again! More droolin' blitherosity from self-righteous highbrows on how low Mairkuns are.

"You've never worked in the private sector! They expect results!" Ray, 'Ghostbusters'

Posted by Almost Anonymous5839">Almost Anonymous5839 2007-07-18 12:01|| 2007-07-18 12:01|| Front Page Top

#8 Left wing liberal scientist takes opportunity to bash America once again from the ivory tower in ~~unbiased scientific study~~ croc of horse pucky sophomoronic paper. It's Bush's fault.

Posted by JohnQC 2007-07-18 12:21|| 2007-07-18 12:21|| Front Page Top

#9 I understand the rest of the world just fine.

They are all fucking idiots, much like the left here.

Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader 2007-07-18 12:34|| 2007-07-18 12:34|| Front Page Top

#10 Can I get a large salary to make people move blocks all day long? At least I won't write a paper to make everyone think its important!

Posted by Oldcat 2007-07-18 13:31|| 2007-07-18 13:31|| Front Page Top

#11 There are some pretty well-validated experimental data on cultural differences in perception and cognition. Nisbett's The Geography of Thought reports some of them.

Those who are culturally and linguistically grounded in western tradition see individuals who act and thereby both impact the situation and bear responsibility (positive or negative) for the outcomes. Those who are culturally grounded in the Chinese and related traditions see interconnected systems of ambiguous or diffuse responsibility and action.

This extends even to what people focus on in photos, for instance. The asians who were tested tend to remember the spatial relationship among object but not the details of the objects and, when asked to describe the situation being represented, talk about the scene as a whole. The westerners tend to describe someone doing something to someone/thing, i.e. individual actors who initiate their own actions and are responsible for the outcome.

FWIW. The cultural difference theory directly contradicts some evolutionary psychologists who think that cognition is just genetic and is more or less the same for all people everywhere.

Posted by lotp 2007-07-18 15:18|| 2007-07-18 15:18|| Front Page Top

#12 The study also noted that lemmings rated highest among mammals in their ability to understand the perspectives of those around them.

Posted by Anon 2007-07-18 15:26|| 2007-07-18 15:26|| Front Page Top

#13 This extends even to what people focus on in photos, for instance. The asians who were tested tend to remember the spatial relationship among object but not the details of the objects and, when asked to describe the situation being represented, talk about the scene as a whole. The westerners tend to describe someone doing something to someone/thing, i.e. individual actors who initiate their own actions and are responsible for the outcome.

This says to me two things. Either the asians in question are expecting a trick question or the pictures were badly chosen. I bet if they are shown a picture of their leader they would say it is a picture of the leader and not be distracted by the brick wall in the background, but in a photo of a fish in water they get distracted by the non-essentials? Sounds like a flawed study to me. I would expect many Asians would give whatever answer they felt pleased the questionaire rather then what they really thought.

Posted by rjschwarz 2007-07-18 16:02|| 2007-07-18 16:02|| Front Page Top

#14 We understand, we just don't give a crap.

Posted by mojo">mojo 2007-07-18 16:40|| 2007-07-18 16:40|| Front Page Top

#15 I would like to do a study on whether a hammer causes professors to forget what they just read.
Preliminary experiments indicate that a hammer landing on ones head changes the subject radically. A hammer landing on other parts of the body cause reluctance and lack of cooperation. A hammer not landing causes fear and caution, and sometimes changes the debate to the need for a full scale study.

Posted by wxjames 2007-07-18 16:45|| 2007-07-18 16:45|| Front Page Top

#16 I agree with lotp that there are differences and Nisbett's book is fascinating. However, these comparisons in the popular press always focus on how Americans are so screwed up and others are so superior. When people start emigrating from the US to these countries and stop immigrating to the US from them, I'll start to care.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2007-07-18 17:46|| 2007-07-18 17:46|| Front Page Top

#17 Meanwhile, in Seattle, in an attempt to help us understand others, the Seattle Port Authority has permanently banned Christmas Trees after a fundamenalist Jewish Rabbi raised a fit.
You may have 'undecorated' conifers, but no garland, or lights, or other religious symbols.....

Posted by USN, Ret. 2007-07-18 17:49|| 2007-07-18 17:49|| Front Page Top

#18 yep, yep. It is not surprising that we Mericans rank below the Jihadist countries who all understand each other very well.

Posted by AT 2007-07-18 17:59|| 2007-07-18 17:59|| Front Page Top

#19 From Bash.Org

A worldwide survey was conducted by the UN. The only question asked was:"Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the
food shortage in the rest of the world?"

The survey was a huge failure...

In Africa they didn't know what "food" meant.

In Eastern Europe they didn't know what "honest" meant.

In Western Europe they didn't know what "shortage" meant.

In China they didn't know what "opinion" meant.

In the Middle East they didn't know what "solution" meant.

In South America they didn't know what "please" meant.

And in the USA they didn't know what "the rest of the world" meant

Posted by badanov 2007-07-18 18:07|| http://www.freefirezone.org]">[http://www.freefirezone.org] 2007-07-18 18:07|| Front Page Top

#20 The experiment also proves that Chinese are much more subservient to authority (aka "the director") and less likely to act on their own perceptions.

Americans will point out that the emperor has no clothes; or that there are two blocks even if the "director" doesn't know that.

Yeah, that's how I'd interpret it, too. If you interpret "move the block" to mean "the one I can see", when you know perfectly well there are two blocks, then you've got a problem.

If the Chinese are so much more capable of understanding the perspectives of other people, why is their history marked by a xenophobia/racism that makes the antebellum South look metropolitan?

Oh, and did they make sure the "director" didn't provide any subtle hints to the subjects?

Posted by Rob Crawford">Rob Crawford 2007-07-18 19:56|| 2007-07-18 19:56|| Front Page Top

23:59 Eric Jablow
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