Richard Nisbett and his colleagues argue that people from Eastern Asian cultures such as China, Japan, and Korea display a different problem-solving style than people from Western cultures (America and Europe). Specifically, their claim is that:
- Westerners focus on objects and their properties, whereas Easterners focus on context and relationships among elements.
- Easterners solve problems circuitously, by considering the merits of each strategy, whereas Westerners solve problems by quickly trying out the most likely strategy.