Fear of Isolation, Cultural Differences, and Recognition Memory

Previous research suggests that members of East Asian cultures show a greater sensitivity to context (vs. target) information than do members of Western Cultures. We suggest this difference is rooted in a greater chronic fear of isolation (FOI) in East Asians than in Westerners. To support this hypothesis, we first compare chronic levels of FOI between East Asian and Western participants. Then we manipulate FOI in a group of Western college students and assess their recognition memory for object as a function whether the background is the same or different from when the picture was first seen. Consistent with our proposal, the manipulation affected people's sensitivity to background context in picture recognition in a manner consistent with previous studies of cultural differences.