The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning

by Jeremy Lent

The tests developed to evaluate these differences have used subtle and sometimes ingenious methods to highlight the contrasting patterns of thought. In one test, for example, to determine cultural preferences for uniqueness or conformity, Koreans and Americans were asked to choose a gift from an assortment of colored pens. Americans chose the rarest color, whereas Koreans chose the most common color. Another test was designed to distinguish between the East Asian emphasis on relationships and the Western focus on categories and rules. Chinese and American children were presented with a series of pictures with three things, such as a cow, a chicken, and grass (figure 10.1), and asked to say which two went together. American children, focusing on categorizing rules, pointed to the chicken and cow, explaining that “both are animals.” Chinese children, emphasizing relationships, put the cow and the grass together, pointing out that “the cow eats the grass.”52