This research investigated cross-cultural differences in strategic risky decisions in baseball—among professional baseball teams in North America and Japan (Study 1) and among baseball fans in the United States and Japan (Study 2—preregistered). Study 1 analyzed archival data from professional baseball leagues and demonstrated that outcomes reflecting high risk-high payoff strategies were more prevalent in North America, whereas outcomes reflecting low risk-low payoff strategies were more prevalent in Japan. Study 2 investigated fans’ strategic decision making with a wider range of baseball strategies as well as an underlying reason for the difference: approach/avoidance motivational orientation. European American participants preferred high risk-high payoff strategies, Japanese participants preferred low risk-low payoff strategies, and this cultural variation was explained by cultural differences in motivational orientation. Baseball, which exemplifies a domain where strategic decision making has observable consequences, can demonstrate the power of culture through the actions and preferences of players and fans alike.

这项研究调查了北美和日本的职业棒球队（研究1）以及美国和日本的棒球迷（研究2）（预先注册）在棒球战略风险决策中的跨文化差异。研究1分析了来自职业棒球联盟的档案数据，并表明反映高风险-高回报策略的结果在北美更为普遍，而反映低风险-低回报策略的结果在日本更为普遍。研究2调查了球迷在广泛的棒球策略中的战略决策，以及差异的根本原因：进场/回避动机取向。欧美参与者更喜欢高风险-高回报策略，日本参与者更喜欢低风险-低回报策略，这种文化差异是由动机取向上的文化差异所解释的。棒球代表着战略决策具有明显后果的领域，它可以通过球员和球迷的行动和喜好来展示文化的力量。