Cross Cultural Study
About the study
Thinking and Well-being
The way in which we process information in the world around us has a significant effect on our health and well-being. For example, some people are more prone than others to notice potential dangers, to remember bad things from the past and assume the worst, when the meaning of an event or comment is uncertain. These tendencies are called negative cognitive biases and can lead to low mood and poor quality of life. They also make people vulnerable to mental illnesses. In contrast, those with positive cognitive biases tend to function well and remain healthy. Many psychological treatments work by changing negative biases and replacing them with positive ones to remove symptoms such as low mood.
Previous Research
To date most of this work has been conducted on white, western populations and we do not know whether similar cognitive biases exist in Eastern cultures. Because of this, treatments used for cognitive biases may be less effective on Eastern populations. This project will examine cognitive biases in Eastern (Chinese, including Hong Kong nationals) and Western (UK nationals) people to see whether there are any differences between the two. It will also examine what happens to cognitive biases when someone migrates to a different culture. This will tell us whether influences from the society and culture around us have any effect on our cognitive biases. Finally the project will consider how much our own cognitive biases are inherited from our parents. The results from this study will allow us to learn from any cultural differences found and to alter treatments accordingly.
Our Aim
Together our results will tell us whether the known good and bad effects of cognitive biases apply to non-Western cultural groups as well, and how much cognitive biases are decided by our genes or our environment.
In collaboration with:
University of Oxford University of Hong Kong
Funding from the Economic and Social Research Council
