Cultural Differences in Thinking Outside of Box: The Influence of Context-Independent Versus Context-Dependent Thinking Styles on Creative Task Performance

Abstract

Previous research has examined cross-cultural influences on creative performance. Findings of this line of inquiry are, however, not consistent. While some scholars suggest that individuals from Western cultures, who tend to apply context-independent thinking styles, produce more novel ideas given a cognitive task than individuals from Eastern cultures, who tend to apply context-dependent thinking styles, others do not find such differences. Our research attempts to explore this dilemma and identify conditions that drive cross-cultural differences in creativity. Overall, our findings suggest that cross-cultural differences in creativity exist, but they may be contingent on the nature of the cognitive tasks that may restrict individuals' cognitive flexibility. In particular, the current research shows that the more the cognitive tasks fit individual differences (context-independent vs. context-dependent thinking styles), the better the task performance.