Self in context: autonomy and relatedness in Japanese and U.S. mother-preschooler dyads.

Full Abstract

Cultural differences and similarities in socialization during two contrasting laboratory tasks were examined in 30 Japanese mothers and their preschoolers, both temporarily residing in the United States, and 30 U.S. mothers and their preschoolers (age:
M = 55.8 months, SD = 4.9). Mother and child actions, speech, emotion, and attention were coded from videotaped observations during a free play task and waiting task. Cross-cultural comparisons showed that U.S. mothers had more conversations that emphasized individual experiences, more often acted as playmates and used joint attention, maintained more physical distance, showed more positive emotions, and made more positive responses to child accomplishment. In contrast, Japanese mothers had more conversations that emphasized shared experiences, showed more divided attention, and maintained social role distinctions. Similar, but fewer cultural differences emerged for children. However, maternal and child characteristics also varied by task context. The results suggested an emphasis on autonomy in U.S. dyads and an emphasis on relatedness in Japanese dyads, but the interactions with task context revealed the coexistence of autonomy and relatedness.

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Author information

Author/s: Dennis, Tracy A (TA); Cole, Pamela M (PM); Zahn-Waxler, Carolyn (C); Mizuta, Ichiro (I);

Affiliation: New York University School of Medicine, Child Study Center, NY 10016, USA. dennit01@med.nyu.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Child development (Child Dev), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2002 Nov-Dec; vol 73 (issue 6) : pp 1803-17

Dates: Created 2002/12/18; Completed 2003/04/03; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12487495, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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