Are Americans "hard-wired" differently from the Dutch and Japanese?
[WS:] Two comments: 1. I would be inclined to answer this affirmatively, albeit I cannot prove it. AFIK, cognitive experiences do change the neurological structure of the brain, so it is not too farfetched to think that a group that predominantly experienced the open space environment also developed cognitive preference for that. Ditto for the Dutch and the Japanese, where open space was limited.
2. Cognitive frameworks may explain preferences, but not necessarily actual living arrangements. The Dutch or the Japanese certainly have people who prefer open spaces, but those preferences do not solidify into life styles entrenched in culture and government policies. So these folks learn how to cope living in much more restricted spaces. In the US, the opposite is true. There are probably many people who feel miserable in the suburbs, yet find it difficult to move to a more densely populated environment, so they learn how to cope living with it.
Wojtek