PSYC14H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Divergent Thinking, Culture Of Asia, Collectivism
Document Summary
Ancient chinese thought, includes a principle of contradiction, because everything is perceived to be fundamentally connected with everything else and constantly in flux, real contradiction ceases to exist. When americans encounter two contradictory arguments, they come to view the better argument as even more compelling than when they encounter this same argument by itself. In contrast, when chinese encounter two contradictory arguments, they come to view the weaker argument as more compelling than when it is presented by itself. East asians more than westerners perceive life as fluid and changing, Westerners understand that the world changes; however, it appears that their views on change are slightly different from those of east asians. Relative to east asians, westerners appear to view change as occurring in more linear ways. Example: if a stock has risen over the past year, it will likely rise again next year. Creativity: is the generation of ideas that are both (a) novel and (b) useful and appropriate.
