Cultural Defaults in the Time of COVID: Lessons for the Future

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Cultural Studies

Background:

• COVID-19 pandemic revealed significant disparities in national response effectiveness.
• East Asian nations (Japan, Taiwan, South Korea) generally outperformed the United States in controlling the virus.
• Cultural psychological defaults may explain these differences in pandemic response.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize research on cultural defaults in the US versus East Asia.
• To examine how these defaults influenced pandemic-related decision-making and communication.
• To highlight the role of meaning-making in culturally-specific pandemic responses.

Main Methods:

• Literature synthesis of decades of empirical research on cultural psychology.
• Analysis of government and organizational decision-maker communications during the pandemic.
• Comparison of cultural defaults with national pandemic response strategies.

Main Results:

• Identified distinct cultural defaults: US (optimism, uniqueness, personal control, promotion) vs. East Asia (realism, similarity, social regulation, prevention).
• Demonstrated how these defaults shaped responses to pandemic-related questions (e.g., personal risk, action, societal impact).
• Linked specific cultural defaults to observed national differences in pandemic control.

Conclusions:

• Culturally ingrained psychological defaults significantly impacted national COVID-19 responses.
• Understanding and leveraging cultural defaults can improve future crisis management strategies.
• Meaning-making, influenced by cultural defaults, is crucial for effective public health policy.