Understanding Cross-National Differences in Risk Through a Localized Cultural Perspective

Abstract

We examine cross-national differences in attitudes and decisions toward risk by comparing Chinese (collectivists), South Korean (collectivists, but with distinctive localized cultural norms), and Australian (individualists) undergraduate student samples from a balanced cross-cultural perspective. Individual evaluation revealed that risk was least favored by the Chinese students in their attitudes and choices, followed by the South Korean and Australian students. Unlike previous results from South Korean and Australian student samples that exhibited unique shifts toward risky choices indicative of group polarization, the Chinese students did not tend to take greater risks when making group versus individual decisions (i.e., risky shift). This was regardless of the group’s gender composition, although the pattern did vary according to financially oriented risk domains. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of each country’s indigenous sociocultural norms.