How a Precedent Impacts Individual, Interpersonal, and Cultural Processes
Shu Zhang
Columbia University
Abstract:
I will present several studies on how a precedent affects decisions and behaviors. Adopting
motivational and social cognitive lenses, I investigate the impacts of a precedent on individual
decision-making, interpersonal behaviors, and cross-cultural interactions. The findings indicate:
(1) an important role of self-regulatory motivation in repeating a precedent, such as a prior
decision made by oneself or the managing methods used by a former boss, even when the
precedent is unpleasant, ineffective, or unethical; and (2) the automaticity of cross-cultural
intrusion, where concepts and scripts associated with a precedent culture (e.g., home-country
culture), such as language and communication style, intrude upon enacting concepts and scripts
associated with another culture (e.g., host-country culture). My ongoing research bridges these
findings by evaluating the role of self-regulatory motivation in intercultural bias, a preference for
the precedent culture over a different culture.