TY - JOUR
T1 - What Folklore Tells Us about Risk and Risk Taking
T2 - Cross-Cultural Comparisons of American, German, and Chinese Proverbs
AU - Weber, Elke U.
AU - Hsee, Christopher K.
AU - Sokolowska, Joanna
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by grant SBR-9422819 from the National Science Foundation. We thank Chip Heath, Helmut Jungermann, Paul Slovic, and one anonymous reviewer for useful comments. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Elke Weber, Department of Psychology, OSU, 1885 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210. Fax: (614) 292-5601. E-mail: [email protected]. 170
PY - 1998/8
Y1 - 1998/8
N2 - Two studies attempted to discriminate between a situational-economic and a cultural explanation for the recently reported finding that Chinese from the People's Republic of China (PRC) are more risk-seeking than Americans. Both studies compared American and Chinese proverbs related to risk and risk-taking. The first study added Germany as a control group for its socioeconomic similarity to the United States but its closer resemblance to the PRC in its social safety-net and cultural collectivism. Members of each culture rated American, Chinese, and German risk-related proverbs, respectively, on implied advice (to take or avoid risk) and applicability to financial or social risks. Results were consistent with the cultural explanation of national differences in risk taking: (a) Chinese and German proverbs were judged to provide more risk-seeking advice than American proverbs; (b) American proverbs were judged less applicable to risks in the social domain than Chinese and German proverbs; (c) regardless of national origin of proverbs, Chinese perceived proverbs to advocate greater risk-seeking than American raters, but only for financial and not for social risks.
AB - Two studies attempted to discriminate between a situational-economic and a cultural explanation for the recently reported finding that Chinese from the People's Republic of China (PRC) are more risk-seeking than Americans. Both studies compared American and Chinese proverbs related to risk and risk-taking. The first study added Germany as a control group for its socioeconomic similarity to the United States but its closer resemblance to the PRC in its social safety-net and cultural collectivism. Members of each culture rated American, Chinese, and German risk-related proverbs, respectively, on implied advice (to take or avoid risk) and applicability to financial or social risks. Results were consistent with the cultural explanation of national differences in risk taking: (a) Chinese and German proverbs were judged to provide more risk-seeking advice than American proverbs; (b) American proverbs were judged less applicable to risks in the social domain than Chinese and German proverbs; (c) regardless of national origin of proverbs, Chinese perceived proverbs to advocate greater risk-seeking than American raters, but only for financial and not for social risks.
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U2 - 10.1006/obhd.1998.2788
DO - 10.1006/obhd.1998.2788
M3 - Article
C2 - 9719662
AN - SCOPUS:0001125776
SN - 0749-5978
VL - 75
SP - 170
EP - 186
JO - Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
JF - Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
IS - 2
ER -