Thinking more holistically as we grow older? Results from different tasks in two cultures

Abstract

The present study aims at examining culture differences in holistic thinking across younger and older adults. Ninety-four participants from Hong Kong, China and ninety participants from Boston, USA were assessed on two measures of holistic thinking: (1) a self-reported dialectical self scale; and (2) the framed line task. Although both measures showed significant culture effects, distinct age × culture patterns emerged, such that (1) in the self-reported dialectical self scale, older adults from both cultures tended to think less holistically, (2) however, for the framed line task, Chinese sample tended to show age-related changes, but the American sample did not. Findings address the controversy on whether cultures differ in age-related holistic thinking, and further suggested that measures that supposedly all measure the same concept (i.e., holistic thinking) might indeed be measuring very distinct constructs.