Cross-Cultural Comparison of USA and South Korea in Estimated Rate of Organ Donation

Abstract

In this study, we examined cultural differences in estimation of both the percentage of people who would donate organs to others when they died and the percentage of people who would discuss their decision to donate organs with their parents. Participants were 79 undergraduates at a Midwestern university in the USA and 116 undergraduates at a university in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Results showed that the South Korean participants exhibited a greater false consensus effect in regard to discussion with parents about organ donation than did the group from North America. Among those not willing to donate organs, the underestimation of the South Koreans was greater than that the North Americans regarding the willingness of others to discuss donation with their parents. These findings imply that campaigns promoting organ donation may need to be targeted at correcting people's misperceptions about relative prevalence of organ-donation-related behaviors, thereby motivating people to sign up for organ donation, and encouraging discussion by donors with their parents.