The overall research objective is to identify the culture differences in reaction to rewards on problem-solving performance, using accuracy and risk-taking as performance measurements, of participants from different cultures in an experimental study. The experiment was a 2×2 factorial design with two levels of reward (monetary reward and no-reward) and two levels of nationality (Japanese and non-Japanese). In total 84 participants took part in the experiment by solving Sudoku puzzles.

The study finds firstly, that non-Japanese participants show a significantly higher risk-taking score than Japanese participants. Secondly, Japanese participants with no reward have significantly higher scores for accuracy than non-Japanese participants. These results suggest the unique characteristics of Japanese participants to carry out tasks independent of monetary reward.