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Some of that research went back a generation. It was in the 1960s, for instance, that researchers discovered that aspects of visual perception were different from place to place. One of the classics of the literature, the Müller-Lyer illusion, showed that where you grew up would determine to what degree you would fall prey to the illusion that these two lines are different in length:
Researchers found that Americans perceive the line with the ends feathered outward (B) as being longer than the line with the arrow tips (A). San foragers of the Kalahari, on the other hand, were more likely to see the lines as they are: equal in length. Subjects from more than a dozen cultures were tested, and Americans were at the far end of the distribution—seeing the illusion more dramatically than all others.
More recently psychologists had challenged the universality of research done in the 1950s by pioneering social psychologist Solomon Asch. Asch had discovered that test subjects were often willing to make incorrect judgments on simple perception tests to conform with group pressure. When the test was performed across 17 societies, however, it turned out that group pressure had a range of influence. Americans were again at the far end of the scale, in this case showing the least tendency to conform to group belief.
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<p>Some of that research went back a generation. It was in the 1960s, for instance, that researchers discovered that aspects of visual perception were different from place to place. One of the classics of the literature, the <a href="http://www.rit.edu/cla/gssp400/muller/muller.html" target="_blank">Müller-Lyer illusion</a>, showed that where you grew up would determine to what degree you would fall prey to the illusion that these two lines are different in length:</p> <p><a href="http://www.psmag.com/magazines/pacific-standard-cover-story/joe-henrich-weird-ultimatum-game-shaking-up-psychology-economics-53135/attachment/mullerlyercomparison3/" rel="attachment wp-att-53419"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-53419" alt="Muller Lyer Illusion Comparison 3" src="http://d1435t697bgi2o.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/mullerlyercomparison3.jpg" height="361" width="590"></a></p> <p>Researchers found that Americans perceive the line with the ends feathered outward (B) as being longer than the line with the arrow tips (A). San foragers of the Kalahari, on the other hand, were more likely to see the lines as they are: equal in length. Subjects from more than a dozen cultures were tested, and Americans were at the far end of the distribution—seeing the illusion more dramatically than all others.</p> <p>More recently psychologists had challenged the universality of research done in the 1950s by pioneering social psychologist <a href="http://www.brynmawr.edu/aschcenter/about/solomon.htm" target="_blank">Solomon Asch</a>. Asch had discovered that test subjects were often willing to make incorrect judgments on simple perception tests to conform with group pressure. When the test was performed across 17 societies, however, it turned out that group pressure had a range of influence. Americans were again at the far end of the scale, in this case showing the least tendency to conform to group belief.</p> |
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