Frogs, Ponds, and Culture

2017/06/20 by Kaidi Wu, Stephen M. Garcia, Shirli Kopelman · 1 citation
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Cultural Differences and Values #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Culture, Economy, and Development Studies

paper · doi:10.1177/1948550617706731

openalex publication_date 2017/06/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22

Abstract

Would you rather be the big frog in a small pond or the small frog in a big pond? In three studies, we demonstrate that the entry preference depends on culture. Study 1 found a higher big pond preference for East Asian, versus European American, students. Studies 2A and 2B replicated this big pond preference in behavioral intent across educational and organizational settings for Chinese, as compared to United States, working adults. Study 3 demonstrated cultural variation in frog–pond decisions was not explained by comparison processes that characterize postentry self-regard but rather by concerns for prestige. Together, findings highlight how a cultural lens informs psychological processes that shape entry decision-making.

Citations

• Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?
• Big-Fish--Little-Pond effect on academic self-concept: A cross-cultural (26-country) test of the negative effects of academically selective schools.
• Cultures and Selves
• Deviance or uniqueness, harmony or conformity? A cultural analysis.
• The Local Dominance Effect in Self-Evaluation: Evidence and Explanations
• Culture, Mind, and the Brain: Current Evidence and Future Directions
• Individual differences in social comparison: Development of a scale of social comparison orientation.

Cited by

• Frog pond effect [wikipedia]