Human–computer interaction

Cultural diversity

Protocol analysis

Sociology

Paleontology

Psychology

Cross-cultural

Neuroscience

Cognition

Usability

Cognitive psychology

Cognitive science

Ecological validity

Anthropology

Cultural psychology

Context (archaeology)

Meaning (existential)

Cross-cultural psychology

Computer science

Psychotherapist

Social psychology

Think aloud protocol

Biology

Frontiers in Psychology

Thinking aloud is the concurrent verbalization of thoughts while performing a task. The study of thinking-aloud protocols has a long tradition in cognitive psychology, the field of education, and the industrial-organizational context. It has been used rarely in cultural and cross-cultural psychology. This paper will describe thinking aloud as a useful method in cultural and cross-cultural psychology referring to a few studies in general and one study in particular to show the wide applications of this method. Thinking-aloud protocols can be applied for a) improving the validity of cross-cultural surveys, b) process analysis of thoughts and the analysis of changes over time, c) theory development across cultures, d) the study of cultural meaning systems, and e) individual as well as group level analyses allowing hypothesis testing cross-culturally. Limitations of the thinking-aloud method are also discussed.

What Is Going Through Your Mind? Thinking Aloud as a Method in Cross-Cultural Psychology