Inductively Versus Deductively Structured Product Descriptions: Effects on Chinese and Western Readers

Abstract

This study examines the effects of inductively versus deductively organized product descriptions on Chinese and Western readers. It uses a 2 × 3 experimental design with text structure (inductive versus deductive) and cultural background (Chinese living in China, Chinese living in the Netherlands, and Westerners) as independent variables and recall, reading time, and readers’ opinions as dependent variables. Participants read a product description that explained two refrigerator types and then recommended which one to purchase. The results showed that Chinese readers rated readability and persuasiveness higher when the text was structured inductively whereas Western readers rated these aspects equally high for the inductively and deductively structured text. The results suggest that culturally preferred organizing principles do not affect readers’ ability to read and understand texts but that these principles might affect their opinions about the texts.

Getting the Picture: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Chinese and Western Users’ Preferences for Image Types in Manuals for Household Appliances

“…We collected our data in individual sessions in an omnibus research setting in which we also collected data for two other experiments, about which we report in separate articles (Li, De Jong, & Karreman, in press; Li, Karreman, & De Jong, 2019). The tasks and stimulus materials of the three experiments differed considerably so that it was unlikely that they would influence each other.…”