Disentangling the Effect of Culture and Language on Imagery Generation

This study attempts to isolate the effect of culture and language on imagery generation. By asking subjects from China, Singapore, and the U.S. to read Chinese and English messages, my findings show that it is not language, but culture, that drives the higher imagery generation capability of the Chinese people. The Chinese generate more mental images than do both Singapore Chinese and Americans, even when all groups are tested in English because Chinese have a predominantly concrete way of thinking. Singapore Chinese generate the same number of images when exposed to both languages because they have a balanced mental representation.



Citation:

Beichen Liang (2009) ,"Disentangling the Effect of Culture and Language on Imagery Generation", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 36, eds. Ann L. McGill and Sharon Shavitt, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 238-242.

Authors

Beichen Liang, East Tennessee State University, USA



Volume

NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 36 | 2009



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