How Culture Influences Decision-Making

What kid doesn’t hate it when Mom makes them put on a sweater? Apparently, Anglo-American children hate it so much that they perform worse on any task they believe was chosen for them by their mothers. That’s according to research by Sheena S. Iyengar, a professor at the Columbia Business School and author of The Art of Choosing. As explained in a recent TED talk, Iyengar found that a culture’s views on choice affect task performance, decision-making, and happiness. While Asian-American children perform best in mom-chosen tasks, Anglo-American children perform best when they choose their own tasks.