Scientists have long wondered why the U.S. and Europe are so culturally different to China and other countries in Eastern Asia. Now one study claims the answer lies in an unexpected area: the different farming methods used by people living in the East and West. While Westerners are known for their individualism and analytical thinking, eastern culture tends to be interdependent and holistic, the study claims. Paddy rice in the East (right) cannot be grown without ample supplies of water, forcing neighbours to work together. It is also highly labour-intensive, requiring twice the number of hours from planting to harvest as does wheat. Western wheat farmers (left), in contrast, can rely on the rain and operate much more independently
@highlight
Study says that while Westerners are known for their individualism and analytical thinking, eastern culture tends to be interdependent and holistic
@highlight
It puts this down to fact that rice farming in the East requires teamwork
@highlight
Wheat farmers, in contrast, rely on rain and operate more independently
‘But we found that China has very distinct northern and southern psychological cultures and that southern China’s history of rice farming can explain why people in southern @placeholder are more interdependent than people in the wheat-growing north.