East vs. Western Stark Coast-to-Coast Society Clash Revealed

By Stephanie Pappas 18 2012 september

When Faceb k CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed up at a gathering with Wall Street investors in May putting on a h die, his choice that is sartorial sparked flurry of headlines contrasting Silicon Valley’s laid-back culture because of the East Coast’s insistence on formality.

Now, brand new research discovers that this western Coast-East Coast culture clash isn’t only news stereotyping. In reality, people located in the east shore town of Boston closely link their general life satisfaction with exactly how content they are using their own status that is social. In bay area, residents don’t make the same connection, reflecting a more individualistic, free-to-be-me culture.

“Our some ideas about who we’re and how we should feel are shaped in quite dramatic means by our regional environment,” said study researcher Victoria Plaut, a social and psychologist that is cultural the University of California, Berkeley Law class. Broadly speaking, Plaut told LiveScience, the stereotypes are true “If you examine the world that is local you will discover that the East is more old and established, therefore the West is more new and free.”

An account of two towns

Plaut and her peers want in how interactions between someone’s environment and their particular specific traits affect their wellbeing. While your personality that is own, finances and relationships all make a positive change in exactly how delighted you might be, Plaut said, ” they may matter in different methods in various places.” [7 Things That Will Make You Happy]

The scientists desired to go in-depth, so they really picked two metropolitan areas being similar on numerous levels but differ in historic and ways that are cultural. Boston and San Francisco are both waterfront, politically liberal towns with similar economies and lots of well-educated residents, Plaut said. But while Puritans founded Boston in 1630, san francisco bay area didn’t b m until the rush that is gold associated with the 1840s, when thousands of hopeful miners fl ded California, hoping to have rich quickly.

Also today, the makeup products regarding the urban centers is different. About 60 per cent of Bostonians are natives of Massachusetts, and just 16 % of town residents are originally off their countries. In San Francisco, 38 percent of residents originally come from Ca. Nearly a 3rd of San Franciscans are foreign-born.

Tradition vs. freedom

The attitude differences between the Boston metro area and the San Francisco Bay Area could possibly be summed up into the marketing copy, or viewb ks, of the regions’ prominent universities, Plaut and her colleagues wrote on line Sept. 13 within the journal Personality and Social farmers Italy dating Psychology Bulletin. Stanford University in Ca opens its 2009 viewb k utilizing the terms, “The wind of freedom blows,” and relates to “forward-l king, forward-thinking individuals” l king for “the freedom to be themselves.”

Harvard University, having said that, exposed its 2008 and 2009 viewb k by talking about the college’s “tradition of quality” since 1636 and talking up the grouped community of pupils and faculty.

The researchers wanted to find out if this freedom versus tradition schism was extensive in each metro area. First, they surveyed an online sample of bostonians and San Franciscans, asking them their very own perceptions of social norms inside their towns. They discovered Bostonians identified the tradition in Boston become a lot more rigid than San Franciscans viewed Bay region norms.

“Bostonians are more most likely than San Franciscans to believe that there are clear objectives for just how people should act in their town,” Plaut stated. “Whereas San Franciscans are far more likely than Bostonians to trust that inside their areas people have the freedom to get their way that is own.

Next, the researchers analyzed the “cultural items” of every town — newsprint headlines and also the web sites of hospitals and venture capital firms. (Health care and capital raising are major industries both in cities.) They unearthed that the Boston Globe relates more often to communities and groups than the bay area Chronicle, which prefers stories about innovation, creativity and individuals that are notable. Whilst the world might lead by having a headline like, “Church Struggles to help Keep Its Voice,” the Chronicle might ch se “Wheelchair Athlete Sets High Goals.”

Likewise, Boston capital raising firms were prone to tout their experience and reputation, while San Francisco businesses emphasized their pioneering nature. Accel, A san francisco firm, epitomized this attitude with advertising copy like, “We partner with business owners throughout the world who’ve unique, breakthrough ideas and also the courage to be very first.”

Also regional hospitals reflected their city attitude. Boston hospitals tried to attract clients with a concentrate on their facilities, skilled community of physicians and long histories. Bay area hospitals were prone to mention alternative medicine and patient empowerment that is individual.

Happiness differences

Next, Plaut and her colleagues seemed beyond the marketing patter towards the populous city residents on their own. They surveyed 3,485 Boston and san francisco bay area residents about their satisfaction along with their funds, household, community, training and work, as well as their overall satisfaction with themselves. In Boston, general satisfaction ended up being contingent on satisfaction along with five among these factors, whilst in bay area, just work satisfaction was correlated with overall satisfaction.

The researchers asked 403 riders of public transportation in Boston (the MBTA) and San Francisco (CalTrain) questions about things that made them happy(daily uplifts) and daily hassles in another survey. [7 Thoughts Which Can Be Bad For You]

They unearthed that Bostonians are in their happiest when relieved of day-to-day hassles, particularly those related to family and work relations — again emphasizing the community-based nature regarding the town, Plaut stated. A person had in San Francisco, happiness was more closely tied to the number of everyday uplifting experiences.

” all sorts of things that in Boston, individuals feel the social force a lot more than in bay area,” Plaut stated.

Do you live in a tradition-focused destination like Boston or a more free-wheeling area like bay area?

The findings don’t claim that every Bostonian loves tradition and community while San Franciscans are typical wild and free creative types, Plaut stated. The distinctions take a citywide scale, perhaps not a person one. Nor does the research suggest that one city is happier compared to other, exactly that residents of each town might find their joy in numerous ways.

The trend is probably driven both by the towns and cities’ history and natives in addition to by outsiders drawn by each city’s reputation, Plaut said.

The findings are helpful for focusing on how cross-regional interactions — like Zuckerberg’s h die incident — can get wrong, Plaut stated. They may also matter to companies trying to break in to new markets or go employees from a city to a different. Transferring to a populous town it doesn’t share your values can be very disorienting, Plaut stated.

” That may even cause unhappiness and anxiety. It can cause people to experience deficiencies in belongingness,” she said. ” Understanding the supply of that disorientation can be an crucial first step in addressing it.”