It is well known that agism is present in both Eastern and Western literature, including in school textbooks. Older people are often portrayed as insignificant, sick, dependent, boring or lonely. Younger generations may develop "gerontophobia" from such textbooks, which is not beneficial for ensuring that individuals can live happily in…

This paper asks if Estonian and Chinese tweens' access to pocket money influences their brand valuation, as well as value orientations in the context of perceived peer popularity and personal well-being. Surveys conducted in autumns 2006 (China n = 188) and 2007 (Estonia n = 111) show an inherent cultural resistance among tweens in both countries…

The purpose of this study was to investigate coming out to family and friends and their relationships to shame, internalized heterosexism, lesbian identity, and perceived social support in Chinese lesbians from 2 different cultural settings--Mainland China (N = 244) and Hong Kong (N = 234). Results of structural equation modeling showed that, in…

For decades, researchers have been convinced that one stereotypic image of scientists existed among children worldwide (Chambers, 1983; Chiang & Guo, 1996; Fung, 2002; Maoldomhnaigh & Hunt, 1988; Newton & Newton, 1992, 1998; She, 1998; Song, Pak, & Jang, 1992). This study, however, moves beyond that stereotypic image and examines…

The rhetorical theories and practices of ancient India and China provide the themes of this book. An examination of the relationship between culture and rhetoric, East and West, opens the book. The rhetorical milieu of India, its philosophy, social system, and uses of speech, leads to a probing of the caste system and speech of the Brahmins.…

Taboo or forbidden topics of conversation are compared for Taiwan, the Republic of China, and United States. Emphasis is on the conveyance of conversational conventions in second language teaching. First, the concept of conversational taboos is examined, noting the non-transferability of taboos across cultures and languages. Four kinds of taboos…

Objective: To explore the characteristics of the spiritual beliefs among junior high school students. Method: 431 junior high school students are measured by Students' Basic Information Questionnaire (SBIQ) and Middle School Students' Spiritual Beliefs Questionnaire (MSSSBQ). Results: (1) The overall characteristics of the spiritual beliefs among…

This paper describes how the author has used children's stories, published in the People's Republic of China, to explore the ethnocentrism in American academic social psychology. The stories are read to students in the author's undergraduate classes in social psychology, who then discuss the themes of the stories. Comparisons are made with stories…

Collectivist versus individualistic attitudes in China and the United States are compared with particular emphasis on the effects of these attitudes on educational objectives and practice in China. Individualism is interpreted to include attitudes such as personal liberty, individual initiative, moral relativism, and self-direction. This…