Decision processes and use of decision AIDS: Comparing two closely related nations in East Asia

The authors report the results of a controlled laboratory experiment comparing the decision processes of participants from Taiwan and Japan. These two nations have very close geographical, cultural, historical, and economic ties. The results show that decision processes of Taiwanese differed from those of Japanese. Specifically, decision processes adopted by Taiwanese participants were more consistent with compensatory processes than were those adopted by Japanese participants. The authors identify cultural factors that may explain the differences. These results demonstrate the danger of generalizing decision theories across national boundaries, even when the nations are seemingly closely related. The results also indicate that the differences in decision processes among nations cannot easily be characterized as East versus West.