Talhelm et al. (2014). Large-scale psychological differences within china explained by rice versus wheat agriculture.

There are major cultural differences within China. Farming rice makes a culture more interdependent, whereas farming wheat makes a culture more independent.

Western culture is more individualistic and analytic thinking and East Asian culture is more interdependent and holistic thinking. Analytical thinking uses abstract reasoning and formal categories and holistic thinking is more intuitive. There are four main theories which attempt to explain the reasons for differences between the East and the West:

1. Modernization hypothesis
   The more wealthy, educated and capitalistic societies become, the more individualistic and analytical societies become.
2. Pathogen prevalence
   A high prevalence of communicable diseases makes it more dangerous to deal with strangers, making those societies insular and collectivistic.
3. Subsistence theory
   There are some forms of subsistence (e.g. farming) which require more functional interdependence than other forms of subsistence (e.g. herding).

The biggest differences between farming rice and wheat are irrigation (1) and labour (2). Rice requires more labour and more elaborate irrigation systems, which required the cooperation of multiple people.

Rice cultures have more holistic thought, more interdependent self-construals and lower divorce rates. Wheat cultures had more analytic thought, individualism and divorce. It is believed that subsistence style can shape culture long after people have stopped relying on that subsistence style.