Social norms have a reliable and oftentimes strong influence on individual attitudes and behaviors across environmental and other domains. However, this influence may vary by cultural tightness—the extent to which people adhere to shared cultural norms. Past research has primarily relied on correlational approaches limiting insight into how cultural context shapes conformity when people are exposed to norm information. Our study tests the effects of three social norm interventions (correcting pluralistic ignorance, working together norms, and dynamic norms) on climate-related attitudes and behaviors across 16,070 participants in 42 countries. Although past research shows that cultural tightness explains cross-cultural variation in attitudes towards conformity, our results find limited evidence that cultural tightness moderates the strength of conformity to social norm information. This finding is essential for designing cross-culturally adaptable interventions for addressing global issues like climate change.

The cultural milieu in which one is born and raised is associated with variability in autobiographical memory. Research has not yet revealed, however, whether participants’ age at the time of their earliest memory or the quality of the reported events varies among individuals with similar or dissimilar microsystem- and macrosystem-level influences. The present study examined age at the time of the earliest memory and memory ratings by three groups of female undergraduates: European Americans (EA) and Chinese Americans (CA) who were born in the United States and international Chinese (IC) students born in China. EAs were younger at the time of their earliest memory relative to CAs and ICs, whose ages did not differ. Group differences were also found on ratings of memory quality, and will be discussed. Taken together, these results indicate that microsystem- and macrosystem-level influences differentially contribute to the formation and maintenance of early autobiographical memories.

Metacognition, or the ability to evaluate the accuracy of our memory, is a complex and vital skill. However, there is a dearth of research on cross-cultural differences in metacognition and memory. Following receipt of the SARMAC CoDI grant, we are investigating cross-cultural differences in metacognition and memory between South Korea and the UK. Participants (N = 200) complete a 40-item two alternate forced choice recognition paradigm. For each response, participants receive post-decision feedback (consistent vs inconsistent with participant’s recognition decision). Feedback is presented as advice based on previous participants performance. Memory accuracy and confidence judgements are measured pre- and post-feedback. Preliminary data indicates that overall, all participants increase confidence judgements following consistent feedback and decrease confidence judgements following inconsistent feedback. However South Korean participants show decreased memory accuracy following inconsistent feedback, suggesting preliminary cross-cultural differences in metacognition and memory. This research helps diversify our knowledge towards eyewitness memory procedures cross-culturally.