Individualistic and analytic vs. interdependent, holistic, and fiercely loyal

A new study is based on the idea that as humans in different regions of China had very different agricultural practices – in the north people grew wheat vs. in the south where rice was grown – that difference, over thousands of years, has led to very different mindsets which to this day persist:

“The idea is that rice provides economic incentives to cooperate, and over many generations, those cultures become more interdependent, whereas societies that do not have to depend on each other as much have the freedom of individualism,” Talhelm said. He went about investigating this with his Chinese colleagues by conducting psychological studies of the thought styles of 1,162 Han Chinese college students in the north and south and in counties at the borders of the rice-wheat divide.

They found through a series of tests that northern Chinese were indeed more individualistic and analytic-thinking — more similar to Westerners — while southerners were interdependent, holistic-thinking and fiercely loyal to friends, as psychological testing has shown is common in other rice-growing East Asian nations, such as Japan and Korea.

source: newswise.com: ‘Rice Theory’ Explains North-South China Cultural Differences

This study claims then that the differences are the result of long-established agricultural practices and their affect upon human interdependence at deep levels. But I wonder if simply eating rice can also have such an effect on people? Just as it is being understood more and more how midichlorians affect people’s minds and behavior, perhaps these simple grains we eat are having much more of an affect on us than merely nutritional.

It seems like so many jdramas I have seen involve characters who make sacrifices for the sake of others. They also focus on unique aspects of character which are things which would be highly significant to interdependent cultures, yet completely missed by more individualistic ones.

In such dramas it is often the continuity of the whole which is far more important than the individual, and individual heroism is usually centered around sacrifice for the sake of others.

I could easily see how a person who is conditioned to such a deeply interdependent culture could feel that other, more individualistic cultures are almost demonic.

There are other possible psychological aspects to all this also. To sensitive people deeply interdependent cultures may be much more comforting whereas highly independent ones may feel cold and threatening. For example, if someone has been through stressful or traumatic experiences they may naturally find people from interdependent cultures to be more healing, while they may wish to avoid those from individualistic cultures, members of which may seem threatening to them.

Its interesting what Mr. Talhelm noticed when he was in living in China and seems like he is tapping into something potentially much deeper than mere behavioral/social attributes of cultures.