{"id":24385,"date":"2021-01-16T22:56:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-17T02:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=24385"},"modified":"2021-01-29T16:37:19","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T20:37:19","slug":"soft-power-and-hard-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/soft-power-and-hard-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Soft Power and Hard Power: Cultural Differences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the difference between soft power<\/a> and hard power? Where do you see these different forms of power?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soft power and hard power are ways of describing the preference for an extrovert ideal<\/a> or not. In Asian cultures, soft power is appreciated more than the hard power revered in American society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to better understand soft power and hard power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Soft Power<\/strong> and Hard Power in Asian Culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The extrovert ideal isn\u2019t as \u201cnatural\u201d or as revered everywhere as Americans might think. Whether extroversion or introversion predominates may depend on where you live or the culture in which you were raised<\/strong>. This describes the difference between soft power and hard power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2004, research psychologist Robert McCrae published a map of the world based on the personality traits most prominent in various countries and cultures: Asia is introverted while Europe and the U.S. are highly extroverted<\/strong>. While it\u2019s important to avoid stereotyping entire cultures and assigning group characteristics to individuals, it would be a mistake to ignore Asian cultural differences<\/a> and introversion\u2014there are aspects of Asian cultural style and personality the Western world can learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A great deal of research underscores that there are cultural\/personality type differences between East and West. For example, one study comparing children in Shanghai and Ontario, Canada, found that while shy and sensitive personalities were discouraged in Canada, children with those personalities were popular in China and were more likely to have leadership roles. In another study, Chinese students told researchers they preferred friends who were sensitive, humble, helpful, and honest, while American students wanted friends who were cheerful, enthusiastic, and gregarious. Chinese students valued moral qualities and achievement, while Americans focused on sociability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When researchers asked Asian-Americans and European-Americans to think out loud while solving logic problems, the latter group did better. However, the Asian-Americans did much better when allowed to work on the problems silently. Soft power and hard power played out differently in these groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Asian culture, talk is for communicating necessary information; being quiet is a sign of thoughtfulness. The East and West have contrasting proverbs about silence. For instance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n