Reliant behavior in the United States and Japan

Japanese economic success is often attributed to culturally reinforced psyc hological conditioning that promotes interpersonal reliance, cooperation, a nd a group interest orientation. This article provides direct experimental evidence on differences in behavior among future businesspeople in tile Uni ted States and Japan. Utilizing a simple, two-person extensive form game of perfect information introduced( by Selten (1975), we provide evidence that , contrary to some views, the Japanese can be less reliant on the behavior of others and are more likely to take actions at variance with group welfar e in some settings. Thus, popular explanations of Japanese economic achieve ments may require further exploration.