Communication Mode Preference Paradox Among Native Chinese Speakers

Previous researchers have detected a phenomenon called communication mode preference (CMP) paradox (i.e., preferring to receive information about the probabilities of chance events numerically but convey such information verbally) among native English speakers (I. Erev & B. L. Cohen, 1990; T. S. Wallsten, D. V. Budescu, R. Zwick, & S. M. Kemp, 1993). Given the increasing evidence of systematic cross-cultural differences in judgment and decision making involving probabilities, the purpose of the present study was to explore whether the CMP paradox is robust enough to survive in the Chinese-speaking culture in which nonprobabilistic thinking appears to occur more frequently. The authors asked 370 native Chinese speakers about their preferences for verbal and numerical probability communications in both a general and weather-forecasting context. The results show that the CMP paradox phenomenon occurs in the Chinese culture and appears to be even more pronounced than in American English cultural settings.