Let your preference be your guide? Preferences and choices are more tightly linked for North Americans than for Indians.

Publisher: American Psychological Association Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0014171 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0022-3514 (Print) Linking ISSN: 00223514 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Pers Soc Psychol Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: Washington Dc : American Psychological Association
Original Publication: Washington, American Psychological Assn.

Attitude* ; Choice Behavior* ; Culture*; Adult ; Cross-Cultural Comparison ; Female ; Humans ; India/ethnology ; Male ; North America/ethnology ; United States

Using experimental paradigms from economics and social psychology, the authors examined the cross-cultural applicability of 3 widely held assumptions about preference and choice: People (a) recruit or construct preferences to make choices; (b) choose according to their preferences; and (c) are motivated to express their preferences in their choices. In 6 studies, they compared how middle-class North American and Indian participants choose among consumer products. Participants in both contexts construct nonrandom preferences at similar speeds. Those in Indian contexts, however, are slower to make choices, less likely to choose according to their personal preferences, and less motivated to express their preferences in their choices. The authors infer that the strong link between preferences and choices observed among North Americans is not a universal feature of human nature. Instead, this link reflects the disjoint model of agency, which prescribes that people should choose freely on the basis of their preferences. In contrast, Indian contexts reflect and promote a conjoint model of agency, according to which agency is responsive to the desires and expectations of important others and may require restraining one's preferences.

Date Created: 20080924 Date Completed: 20081104 Latest Revision: 20091111

20231215

10.1037/a0011618

18808264