A Study of Japanese and Australian Children's Respect for Others

Abstract

A comparison was made between Japanese and Australian children, aged 11-12 years, in endorsement of rules governing respect for others. The children completed two versions of a questionnaire: prescriptive and self-descriptive. They indicated for six target persons-father, mother, teacher, best friend, adult neighbor, and same-age neighbor-their endorsement of seven rules, including greet (the person) respectfully, do what (the person) tells you, and stick up for (the person). Contrary to prediction, Australian children endorsed and reported greater respect for all target persons than did Japanese children. However, Japanese children showed greater correspondence between endorsed and self-reported respect than did Australian children, with the exception of teacher. Japanese children also differentiated more than Australian children in their respect for parents and teacher compared with friends and neighbors. These findings suggest that Japanese social rules governing respect are highly person and situation related, consistent with the strong distinction between in group and out group relations in collectivist cultures. The strength and salience of family in group relations, in which lapses in politeness are tolerated, may explain the lower levels of respect endorsed and reported by Japanese children.