"I don't give a s**t", "I don't give a f**k" are perhaps the most common lines in the American movies and society, too. But this fierce individualism determines an inability to understand other people's points of view. This contrasts with other cultures, like the Chinese one for example - in which people are more "trained" in understanding other perspectives, due possibly to a more "collectivist" mentality.

"This cultural difference affects the way we communicate", said study co-author and cognitive psychologist Boaz Keysar of the University of Chicago.

The research, even if oversimplified, points to real life. Keysar's team arranged two blocks on a table so that the subjects could see both. But a piece of cardboard obstructed the view of one block so a "director," sitting across from the volunteer, could only see one block.

When the director asked 20 American subjects (none of Asian descent) to move a block, most found it tricky to understand which block they had to move and did not take into account the director's perspective, even though they could have deduced that, from the director's seat, they could see just one block on the table.

But the majority of the 20 Chinese subjects had no problem with the hidden block and knew exactly which block the director was referring to. The Americans needed twice as long to move a block than Chinese subjects did.

"That strong, egocentric communication of Westerners was nonexistent when we looked at Chinese. The Chinese were very much able to put themselves in the shoes of another when they were communicating." said Keysar.

In collectivist societies, like the Chinese one, there is more importance given to the group's needs and less to the individual's. In their case, perceiving other people's points of view is a much more important social skill than in the western society. "Of course, these are very gross oversimplifications. Even in America, you can find collectivist societies. For example, working class people tend to be much more collective.", said Keysar.

"If we are aware of how we think differently, this can go a long way toward not allowing these differences to get in the way of reaching mutual understanding."