Researchers think this is caused by different social environments. In East Asia, social environments are more complex, collective, and controlled. As a result, Eastem people need to pay attention to the social context if they are to operate effectively. On the other hand, Western societies prize individual freedom and there is not the same need to pay attention to the social environment. Westem people tend to view events as the result of specific people while those raised in the East set the events in a broader context.