WAS IT YOU OR THE ROOM? ON CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN THE PERCEPTION OF LUCK

Abstract

The fundamental issue in this study is on how culture plays a part in people’s perception and prediction of lucky trends. The aim of this research examines how Eastern and Western cultures attribute luck to different sources when enjoying success in uncertain events. Because of the differences in attribution, the two cultures would tend to have different predictions of their lucky trends. This makes the two cultures susceptible to different gaming fallacies. Various theories from behavior decision theory, crosscultural research and gaming behavior have been put together and examined as a cohesive framework to confront this issue. Two hypotheses are proposed in this study: (I) “Westerners” are more inclined to attribute luck to themselves compared to “Easterners”; and (II) “Westerners” are more susceptible to the “Hot Hand Phenomenon” than “Easterners”, since the latter are more likely to predict trend reversals. Three experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses. The results of the studies provided evidence showing a difference in the attribution of luck between the two cultures, in line with the first hypothesis. The second hypothesis proved conclusive in general ‘every-day’ settings. However, there was insufficient evidence to support the second hypothesis when applied to games. Based on the findings gathered, theoretical implications and managerial applications are drawn.