Effect of talking on thinking across cultures

Interesting article…thought the discussion of stereotype threat and the impairing effect of talking on thinking for East Asian interesting.

We Talk, Therefore We Think? A Cultural Analysis

of the Effect of Talking on Thinking

Heejung S. Kim

The Western assumption that talking is connected to thinking is not shared in the East. The research examines how the actual psychology of individuals reflects these different cultural assumptions. In Study 1, Asian Americans and European Americans thought aloud while solving reasoning problems. Talking impaired Asian Americans’ performance but not that of European Americans. Study 2 showed that participants’ beliefs about talking and thinking are correlated with how talking affects performance, and suggested that cultural difference in modes of thinking can explain the difference in the effect of talking. Study 3 showed that talking impaired Asian Americans’ performance because they tend to use internal speech less than European Americans. Results illuminate the importance of cultural understanding of psychology for a multicultural society.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2002, Vol. 83, No. 4, 828–842