Teens in Rice County Are More Interdependent and Think More Holistically Than Nearby Wheat County

Dong, X., Talhelm, T., & Ren, X. (2018). Teens in rice county are more interdependent and think more holistically than nearby wheat county. Social Psychological and Personality Science

37 Pages Posted: 21 Dec 2018

See all articles by Xiawei Dong

Xiawei Dong

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)

Thomas Talhelm

University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Xiaopeng Ren

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) - Institute of Psychology

Date Written: November 8, 2018

Abstract

China’s smallest province Ningxia sits in north-central China. Surrounded by herding cultures to the north and wheat farmers to the south, Qingtongxia is a small outpost of rice farming fed by the Yellow River. We test the hypothesis that rice-farming cultures are more interdependent by comparing high school students from Qingtongxia (N = 190) to students in a nearby wheat district, Yuanzhou (N = 223). Comparing two nearby counties provides a natural test case that controls for third variables. Students in the rice county thought more holistically, treated a close friend better than a stranger, and showed lower implicit individualism. Students in the rice area showed more relative perception than students from the wheat areas on the practice trials of the Framed Line Task, but differences were nonsignificant on the main trials. Differences between teenagers — born after the year 2000 — suggest that rice-wheat differences continue among China’s next generation.

Keywords: Rice, Culture, China, Farming, Agriculture

Suggested Citation

Dong, Xiawei and Talhelm, Thomas and Ren, Xiaopeng, Teens in Rice County Are More Interdependent and Think More Holistically Than Nearby Wheat County (November 8, 2018). Dong, X., Talhelm, T., & Ren, X. (2018). Teens in rice county are more interdependent and think more holistically than nearby wheat county. Social Psychological and Personality Science, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3280718

Xiawei Dong

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) ( email )

52 Sanlihe Rd.
Datun Road, Anwai
Beijing, Xicheng District 100864
China

Thomas Talhelm (Contact Author)

University of Chicago Booth School of Business ( email )

5807 South Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/t/thomas-talhelm

Xiaopeng Ren

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) - Institute of Psychology ( email )

Lincui Road
Beijing
China

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
145
Abstract Views
924
Rank
362,717
PlumX Metrics