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New research confirms that people from different national cultures vary in how they perceive their physical worlds.  The specific findings of the study discussed here are not as important as the determination that cultural variations exist. A research team lead by Yoshiyuki Ueda of Kyoto University reports that “an ability to perceive differences between similar images depends on the cultural background of the viewer. Scientists have long recognized that the mental processes behind thinking and reasoning differ between people raised in Western and Eastern cultures. Those in the West tend to use 'analytical' processing -- analyzing objects independently of context -- while those in the East see situations and objects as a whole, which is known as 'holistic' processing. . . . In looking for the one odd line out of a group, North Americans took more time when the line was shorter, rather than if it was longer. No such differences were seen in Japanese volunteers, who in contrast had a significantly harder time identifying a straight line among tilted ones.”  Jun Saiki of Kyoto University adds that "’Our next step is to find the cause of this discrepancy. One such reason may be the orthographical [writing] systems the subjects see regularly. In East Asian writing, many characters are distinguished by subtle differences in stroke length, while in Western alphabets, slight angular alterations in letters result in remarkable changes in the reading of words.’" The paper detailing these findings is published in Cognitive Science.

“You Don’t See What I See?”  2017.  Press release, Kyoto University, http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/news/

Cartoons can be better ways to present information than photographs when certain outcomes are desired, according to research done by Rodriguez and Lin.  The scientists conducted a study that “compare[d] two modes of visually presenting information about wind energy – one using photographs and the other using cartoons – on audience’s knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intentions. . . . Results indicate no significant difference between the two groups in terms of knowledge and attitudes, but those shown the comics version showed stronger intentions to support wind energy than those shown as photos. Those exposed to the comics-aided brochure found it more informative, interesting and cognitively engaging. Those who saw the photo version found the brochure more credible.”

Lulu Rodriguez and Xiao Lin.  2016.  “The Impact of Comics on Knowledge, Attitude and Behavioural Intentions Related to Wind Energy.”  Journal of Visual Literacy, vo. 35, no. 4, pp. 237-252.

Awad’s research indicates that the symbols present in urban environments continually evolve and that different groups have varying relationships with them.  As she states, “Our urban environment is filled with symbols in the form of images, text, and structures that embody certain narratives about the past. Once those symbols are introduced into the city space they take a life span of their own in a continuous process of reproduction and reconstruction by different social actors. In the context of the city space of Cairo in the five years following the 2011 Egyptian revolution, I will look on the one side at efforts of activists to preserve the memory of the revolution through graffiti murals and the utilization of public space, and from the other, the authority’s efforts to replace those initiatives with its own official narrative.”

Sarah Awad.  2017.  “Documenting a Contested Memory:  Symbols in the Changing City Space of Cairo.”  Culture and Psychology, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 234-254.

Corsello and Dylan Minor assessed how where people sit in a workplace influences their performance.   Data collected over 2 years from thousands of employees at a large tech company with offices in the US and Europe determined that “neighbors have a significant impact on an employee’s performance.”  The researchers “categorized workers into three types: productive workers, who completed tasks quickly but lacked quality; quality workers, who produced superior work but did so slowly; and generalists, who were average across both dimensions. . . . where groups of workers were clustered together, [the investigators] found that the best seating arrangements had productive and quality employees sitting beside each other, because each helped the other improve. . . . When productive workers were seated next to quality workers (and generalists were grouped together), [researchers] found a 13% gain in productivity (speed of work) and a 17% gain in effectiveness (fewer unresolved tasks) in that group. . . . these effects occurred almost immediately but vanished within two months.” Minor and Housman previously reported similar findings from closely related research.

Jason Corsello and Dylan Minor.  2017.  “Want to Be More Productive?  Sit Next to Someone Who Is.”  Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2017/02/want-to-be-more-productive-sit-next-to-someone-who-is.