Why Westerners and Easterners Really Do Think Differently | Big Think - 0 views
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While the studies cover many different topics, the subject of an individualistic or holistic thinking style is noteworthy.
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In one study, complex images were shown to test subjects from East Asia and North America. The scientists tracked the eye movements of the participants in order to gauge where their attention was focused. It was found that the Chinese participants spent more time looking at the background of the image, while the Americans tended to focus on the main object in the picture. Holistic and individualistic thinking manifested in one clear example.
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Of course, these tendencies are generalizations.
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I really like the author stating that "Of course, these tendencies are generalizations." This shows that this study is not to categorize people into east and west, two groups. But this tendency is worth-noticing. The trials presented in the article shows different possibilities of why there is a difference. I think this cultural difference is similar to why Australia has very distinctive animal compare to the other continents. Since in the ancient times, westerners and easterners are isolated to each other, they took different approaches to develop their civilization. However, I really like the author emphasizing that this difference is not a stereotyping, it is the result of population analysis and observations. --Sissi (2/6/2017)