I read the article, and I'm pretty sure that, between the scientists, the reporter, and you, you're the only person attatching any kind of normative/'moral' angle to the findings.

It's like Arabs getting defensive about "standing too close" to Germans: defensive, tribalistic, and just silly.
sam | Homepage | 07.18.07 - 7:27 pm | #

Then maybe you should read the article again.

All joking aside, my real ax to grind here is bad science. There's a bazillion things wrong this study, but the worst are the grandiose statements being derived from it. The co-author, Keysar, is clearly attributing a positive virtue -- empathy -- to whomever jumped to attention the quickest and a negative explanation to the slower Americans, even though there could be a million different reasons for the discrepancy. I actually don't think the study tells us anything about anyone, American or Chinese, but the point of my post is that you can easily say the Chinese took action faster because they're accustomed to totalitarian society where there are repercussions for not quickly obeying authority. This, to me, is more likely an explanation for the results than the Marxist claptrap ("working class people tend to be much more collective") being spouted by Keysar.
Jackson Kuhl | 07.18.07 - 8:56 pm | #

These are some bold conclusions to make from a study about moving blocks.

How is the conclusion made in the article any more valid that, say, concluding that the study results show that Americans are more distrustful of authority?

I like that interpretation better.
Nate | Homepage | 07.18.07 - 9:59 pm | #

most were confused as to which block to move and did not take into account the director's perspective. Even though they could have deduced that, from the director's seat, only one block was on the table.

Of course, the director did not take into account the participant's perspective. So Keysar is basically saying that authorities are not expected to have empathy.

Jackson, you're right. This is nothing but bad science.
Russ | 07.19.07 - 9:37 am | #