Blog Assignment #1 - Gilovich and Nisbett

I think Westerners are more prone to creating motivational determinants of belief than Asians.

In his “The Influence of Perception,” Nisbett uses rural Chinese and American children to demonstrate how Americans children are more analytic than Chinese. When asked to pair any two of the three pictures of a mother, father, and baby, the American children tended to group the mother and father together because the man and woman were adults (categorizing the three) whereas the Chinese children were more holistic in perception and grouped the mother and the baby because the mother takes care of the baby. Because Westerners are more focused on salient objects and analytic features, they would tend to be more aware of their own attributes and thus create beliefs based on personal motivation. By realizing they are “special,” as many Westerners are taught at a young age, and identifying what they believe that they do well, Westerners tend to defiantly state that they are above average and create such related beliefs based on personal motivation. Conversely, Asians have more relational-contextual based perception and tend to focus on the whole picture, acknowledging more the abilities of others.

Born in China, my parents and relatives instilled in me Chinese morals and ethics. I was taught to always be humble. As a young child, my grandmother frequently said to me this common Chinese phrase: “tian-wai, you-tian,” translated to mean that “there is a sky outside of any sky.” It means that not matter how good you are at doing something, there will always be someone who you can learn from. Another example of the effects of heritage and culture on perception is in medicine; Asians believe in healing the entire body, such as utilizing healing techniques of chi and drinking herbal remedies. However, many Westerners dispel such ideas and use “modern” Western medicine to focus on specific areas of healing. The holistic outlook and modesty inculcated in most Asians tend to helps to prevent Asians from feeling the Lake Wobegon effect, as stated in Gilovich’s “What We Want to See.” Grasping a hold of the entire picture, Asians tend to be less likely to promote that they are better than others or create beliefs based on motivational determinants.

However, this is not to say that Asians are not at all prone to creating motivational determinants of belief. Asians, situated in very competitive modern societies, are now looking at their strengths more—especially when compared to others. With a need to stand out, sometimes the only way is to sensationalize and believe that they are better. Whether it is writing a résumé or talking at an interview, “contemporary” Asians also construct beliefs based on personal motivation.

Perhaps the difference in creating beliefs and perception are causes for the sometimes loath acceptance of foreign ethnicities. As Westerners, now including me, we sometimes view those who are different from us as “salient objects” in our seemingly pristine society. Instead, we should acknowledge the greatest similarity; that is, we are all human.