Abstract
The present study investigated how an individual's Zhong-Yong tendency is related to his/her perceptual processing capacity. In two experiments, participants completed a Zhong-Yong Thinking Style Scale and performed a redundant-target detection task. Processing capacity was assessed with a non-parametric approach (systems factorial technology, SFT) and a parametric (linear ballistic accumulator model, LBA) approach. Results converged to suggest a positive correlation between Zhong-Yong tendency and processing capacity. High middle-way thinkers had larger processing capacity in multiple-signal processing compared with low middle-way thinkers, indicating that they processed information more efficiently and in an integrated fashion. Zhong-Yong tendency positively correlates with the processing capacity. These findings suggest that the individual differences in processing capacity can account for the reasons why high middle-way thinkers tend to adopt a global and flexible processing strategy to deal with the external world. Furthermore, the influence of culturally dictated thinking style on cognition can be revealed in a perception task.
Highlights
People in different cultures differ psychologically, and they know different things, believe different things, and have different tastes
The present study focuses on one of the most influential Chinese thinking styles, Zhong-Yong thinking style, to see how it affects the processes in perceptual decision making
The participants were split into two groups according to their Zhong-Yong scores: the high middleway thinkers (N = 10, M = 6.69, SD = 0.17) were the ones who scored at the top one-fifth on the Zhong-Yong scores and the low middle-way thinkers (N = 12, M = 4.93, SD = 0.32) were the ones who scored at the bottom one-fifth on the Zhong-Yong scores1
Summary
People in different cultures differ psychologically, and they know different things, believe different things, and have different tastes. An increasing number of studies have investigated whether culture affects an individual’s behavior and recent findings show that culture plays an important role in shaping human perception and cognition (Norenzayan and Nisbett, 2000; Masuda and Nisbett, 2001, 2006; Kitayama et al, 2003; Nisbett and Miyamoto, 2005; Miyamoto et al, 2006). When those feelings have been stirred, and they act in their due degree, there ensues what may be called the state of harmony. Middleway thinking is regarded as a “good” individual attribute that the Chinese praise and pursue, and it has a major impact on Chinese daily life (see Yang, 2010 for a review)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
