A Comparative Analysis of Social Values of Chinese and American Children

Abstract

A set of 701 stories generated by 80 Chinese and 80 American children was content analyzed, and submitted to a factor analysis that yielded four factors common to both groups, one unique factor for the Chinese sample and two for the American sample. A stepwise discriminant function analysis of the common factors indicated significant differences between Chinese and American children, and significant sex differences in the American sample only. The results support the hypotheses that Chinese stories evidence greater social orientation, greater concern with authority and with moral-ethical rectitude, and greater saliency of the role of natural forces and chance, and contain more affective elements, fewer instances of physical aggression, and less economic orientation. The results are taken to reflect cultural differences, which in turn are the result of myriad aspects, from differential child rearing to differing sociopolitical climates.