Experiential learning of cultural norms: the role of implicit and explicit aptitudes

How should I greet her? Should I do what he requests? Newcomers to a culture learn its interpersonal norms at varying rates, largely through trial-and-error experience. Given that the culturally correct response often depends on conditions that are subtle and complex, we propose that newcomers'...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Savani, Krishna, Morris, Michael W., Fincher, Katrina, Lu, Jackson G., Kaufman, Scott Barry
Other Authors: Nanyang Business School
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/161782
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
id sg-ntu-dr.10356-161782
record_format dspace
spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1617822023-05-19T07:31:18Z Experiential learning of cultural norms: the role of implicit and explicit aptitudes Savani, Krishna Morris, Michael W. Fincher, Katrina Lu, Jackson G. Kaufman, Scott Barry Nanyang Business School Culture Science Innovations Center Business::Management Learning Norms How should I greet her? Should I do what he requests? Newcomers to a culture learn its interpersonal norms at varying rates, largely through trial-and-error experience. Given that the culturally correct response often depends on conditions that are subtle and complex, we propose that newcomers' rate of acculturation depends on not only their explicit aptitude (e.g., reasoning ability) but also their implicit aptitude (e.g., pattern recognition ability). In Studies 1-3, participants experienced a range of influence situations sourced from a foreign culture. Across many trials, they decided whether or not to comply and then received accuracy feedback (based on what a majority of locals indicated to be the appropriate action in each situation). Across the 3 studies, stronger implicit aptitude was associated with greater improvement from trial-and-error experience, whereas stronger explicit aptitude was not. In Studies 4-6, participants experienced a range of greeting situations from a foreign culture. Across many trials, implicit aptitude predicted experiential learning, especially under conditions that impede reasoning: multiple cues, subliminal feedback, or inconsistent feedback. Study 7 found that the predictiveness of implicit aptitude was weaker under a condition that impedes associative processing: delayed feedback. These findings highlight the important role of implicit aptitude in helping people learn interpersonal norms from trial-and-error experience, particularly because in real-life intercultural interactions, the relevant cues are often complex, and the feedback is often fleeting and inconsistent but immediate. Ministry of Education (MOE) This research was supported by Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 2 Grant MOE2013-T2-2-059 awarded to Krishna Savani, and by U.S. Army Research Institute Grant W911NF-13-1-0113 awarded to Michael W. Morris. 2022-09-20T02:13:48Z 2022-09-20T02:13:48Z 2022 Journal Article Savani, K., Morris, M. W., Fincher, K., Lu, J. G. & Kaufman, S. B. (2022). Experiential learning of cultural norms: the role of implicit and explicit aptitudes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123(2), 272-291. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000290 0022-3514 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/161782 10.1037/pspa0000290 35099201 2-s2.0-85125043587 2 123 272 291 en MOE2013-T2-2-059 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology © 2022 American Psychological Association. All rights reserved.
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic Business::Management
Learning
Norms
spellingShingle Business::Management
Learning
Norms
Savani, Krishna
Morris, Michael W.
Fincher, Katrina
Lu, Jackson G.
Kaufman, Scott Barry
Experiential learning of cultural norms: the role of implicit and explicit aptitudes
description How should I greet her? Should I do what he requests? Newcomers to a culture learn its interpersonal norms at varying rates, largely through trial-and-error experience. Given that the culturally correct response often depends on conditions that are subtle and complex, we propose that newcomers' rate of acculturation depends on not only their explicit aptitude (e.g., reasoning ability) but also their implicit aptitude (e.g., pattern recognition ability). In Studies 1-3, participants experienced a range of influence situations sourced from a foreign culture. Across many trials, they decided whether or not to comply and then received accuracy feedback (based on what a majority of locals indicated to be the appropriate action in each situation). Across the 3 studies, stronger implicit aptitude was associated with greater improvement from trial-and-error experience, whereas stronger explicit aptitude was not. In Studies 4-6, participants experienced a range of greeting situations from a foreign culture. Across many trials, implicit aptitude predicted experiential learning, especially under conditions that impede reasoning: multiple cues, subliminal feedback, or inconsistent feedback. Study 7 found that the predictiveness of implicit aptitude was weaker under a condition that impedes associative processing: delayed feedback. These findings highlight the important role of implicit aptitude in helping people learn interpersonal norms from trial-and-error experience, particularly because in real-life intercultural interactions, the relevant cues are often complex, and the feedback is often fleeting and inconsistent but immediate.
author2 Nanyang Business School
author_facet Nanyang Business School
Savani, Krishna
Morris, Michael W.
Fincher, Katrina
Lu, Jackson G.
Kaufman, Scott Barry
format Article
author Savani, Krishna
Morris, Michael W.
Fincher, Katrina
Lu, Jackson G.
Kaufman, Scott Barry
author_sort Savani, Krishna
title Experiential learning of cultural norms: the role of implicit and explicit aptitudes
title_short Experiential learning of cultural norms: the role of implicit and explicit aptitudes
title_full Experiential learning of cultural norms: the role of implicit and explicit aptitudes
title_fullStr Experiential learning of cultural norms: the role of implicit and explicit aptitudes
title_full_unstemmed Experiential learning of cultural norms: the role of implicit and explicit aptitudes
title_sort experiential learning of cultural norms: the role of implicit and explicit aptitudes
publishDate 2022
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/161782
_version_ 1772826612533821440