In Part One of this article, I explored how Europe’s particular historical pathway shaped WEIRD psychology and how its values and assumptions became globally influential. Part Two turns to China and Malaysia to explore how different historical conditions produced different cultural solutions. Drawing on Joseph Henrich's work, Marie explores how institutions shape psychology over time and compares three different historical pathways: Europe, China, and Malaysia.

Why do intelligent people from different cultures often disagree about what seems obvious? This article argues that cultural differences are not random. While all societies face similar challenges, they develop different solutions based on their history and circumstances. Drawing on Joseph Henrich's work, Marie explores how institutions shape psychology over time and compares three different historical pathways: Europe, China, and Malaysia.

In celebration of Merdeka, Dhiva Krishanan reflects on identity, language and belonging through her own journey as a Malaysian Indian.

Artificial intelligence has entered a new epoch. With the release of OpenAI’s GPT-5 and other generative models capable of reasoning, problem-solving, and creative synthesis, organizations are now living through a transformation that reaches far beyond technology. At Cultural Impact, we believe that the true frontier of AI transformation lies not in code or computation, but in culture — the invisible system of values, norms, and meanings that shape how humans and machines lea