The Impact of Chinese-style Modernisation on the Social-psychological Behaviours of Chinese Individuals: Evidence from Sociological and Psychological Research

Abstract

As an important social transformation in China, Chinese-style modernisation has driven China into the ranks of modernised countries at a surprising speed for 40 years. From the perspectives of sociology and social psychology, the present article reviews the grassroots social governance model of Chinese-style modernisation and the changes in the traditional culture that have deeply affected people’s minds and social behaviour. The research findings indicate that Chinese-style modernisation has created a miracle in macro-material production, but at the grassroots level, while the material living standards of the people are gradually improving, their social dignity and spiritual life cannot be synchronised. First, as an indicator of measuring people’s quality of life and social development level, Chinese people’s sense of happiness declined in general, and the gap in happiness between different groups of Chinese people is widening. Second, the sense of fairness among people in the modernisation process has decreased, leading to some negative attitudes among the public and exacerbating social risks. Third, the general level of trust among the Chinese people is declining, but the specific trust manifests complex patterns, showing an increase in calculated (benefit-based) trust and a decrease in identified (kinsfolk-based) trust. In particular, people’s trust in the central government has remained high; however, they do not have the same level of trust in local and grassroots governments. All these demonstrate that the authoritarian type of governance and the historical practice of spiritual culture endorsed in Chinese-style modernisation have brought new possibilities for human society in future development, but there are also many problems and difficulties of dogmatism, formalism and bureaucracy in grassroots governance and cultural compromises of the East and the West. Chinese-style modernisation needs to do more in order to further enhance the sense of gain, happiness and trust among grassroots people, in addition to pursuing the aim of raising overall strength of the country.