The depleting consequences of culturally mismatched thinking styles

Six studies examine the consequences of engaging in culturally mismatched thinking styles, such as encountering ads that require one to think in a way that is inconsistent with one’s culturally dominant thinking style. Our findings suggest that these enriching cross-cultural experiences come with self-regulatory consequences: less ability to control one’s intentions, a greater likelihood of giving in to temptations, and less interest in new (vs. familiar) experiences. This is shown in terms of evaluations and actual consumption behaviors in real-life consumer settings that reflect reduced self-control, as well as choices of familiar versus novel consumer experiences. Supporting the notion that mismatch effects reflect difficulty in switching between cultural mindsets, these findings are attenuated for those who have a compatible (vs. oppositional) bicultural identity. The findings highlight the importance of understanding the effects of matched/mismatched thinking experiences on audiences of different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds.