The Geography of Thought

First edition (US)

The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently...and Why is a book by social psychologist Richard Nisbett that was published by Free Press in 2003.[1] By analyzing the differences between Asia and the West, it argues that cultural differences affect people's thought processes more significantly than believed.[2]

In the book, Nisbett demonstrates that "people actually think about—and even see—the world differently because of differing ecologies, social structures, philosophies, and educational systems that date back to ancient Greece and China".[3] At its core, the book assumes that human behavior is not “hard-wired” but a function of culture.

  1. ^ Nisbett, Richard (2003). The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently...and Why. New York, NY: Free Press. ISBN 978-0743255356.
  2. ^ Swanbrow, Diane (27 February 2003). "The geography of thought: How culture colors the way the mind works". Michigan News.
  3. ^ Nisbett, Richard (5 April 2004). The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently...and Why. ISBN 0743255356.