Mnemonic context effect in two cultures: Attention to memory representations?

TY - JOUR

T1 - Mnemonic context effect in two cultures

T2 - Attention to memory representations?

AU - Duffy, Sean

AU - Kitayama, Shinobu

PY - 2007

Y1 - 2007

N2 - In two experiments we demonstrate a substantial cross-cultural difference in a mnemonic context effect, whereby a magnitude estimate of a simple stimulus such as a line or circle is biased toward the center of the distribution of previously seen instances of the same class. In support of the hypothesis that Asians are more likely than Americans to disperse their attention to both the target stimulus and its mnemonic context, this effect was consistently larger for Japanese than for Americans. Moreover, the cultural difference was attenuated by an experimentally induced belief in class homogeneity that augmented the context effect itself in both cultures. More important, these belief effects happened in the absence of any objective change in stimulus distribution. Implications for sociocultural shaping of cognition are discussed.

AB - In two experiments we demonstrate a substantial cross-cultural difference in a mnemonic context effect, whereby a magnitude estimate of a simple stimulus such as a line or circle is biased toward the center of the distribution of previously seen instances of the same class. In support of the hypothesis that Asians are more likely than Americans to disperse their attention to both the target stimulus and its mnemonic context, this effect was consistently larger for Japanese than for Americans. Moreover, the cultural difference was attenuated by an experimentally induced belief in class homogeneity that augmented the context effect itself in both cultures. More important, these belief effects happened in the absence of any objective change in stimulus distribution. Implications for sociocultural shaping of cognition are discussed.

KW - Attention

KW - Cognition

KW - Context

KW - Culture

KW - Memory

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=37449021253&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=37449021253&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - https://doi.org/10.1080/03640210701703808

DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/03640210701703808

M3 - Article

C2 - 21635326

SN - 0364-0213

VL - 31

SP - 1009

EP - 1020

JO - Cognitive science

JF - Cognitive science

IS - 6

ER -