TY - JOUR
T1 - Experiential learning of cultural norms
T2 - The role of implicit and explicit aptitudes.
AU - Savani, Krishna
AU - Morris, Michael W.
AU - Fincher, Katrina
AU - Lu, Jackson G.
AU - Kaufman, Scott Barry
N1 - Funding Information:
Katrina Fincher and Jackson G. Lu contributed equally. 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. We thank Dayana Bulchand, Sylvia Chin, Yu Ding, Ee Hwee Lau, Velvetina Lim, Andrea Low, and Li Shi Tan for extensive research assistance. The materials, data, and code for all experiments are available at https://osf.io/udp7g/.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022. American Psychological Association
PY - 2022/8
Y1 - 2022/8
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Culture
KW - Explicit
KW - Implicit
KW - Learning
KW - Norms
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85125043587&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/pspa0000290
DO - 10.1037/pspa0000290
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85125043587
SN - 0022-3514
VL - 123
SP - 272
EP - 291
JO - Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
JF - Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
IS - 2
ER -