The purpose of this research was to examine children’s story preferences as a function of age and cultural orientation. Using Hofstede’s (1984) distinction between individualism and collectivism, we examined the extent to which younger (6–8 years old, n = 47, M = 6.94, SD = 0.94) and older (9–12 years old, n = 57, M = 10.35, SD = 1.14) children preferred stories that reflected their cultural orientation. Participants were children (N = 104) of various nationalities enrolled in a summer camp on the island of Mallorca, Spain. Children were classified as either individualist or collectivist using the Children’s Self-Construal Scale. Each child was read six stories, three of which reflected individualist values and three of which reflected collectivist values. Older children preferred stories that were consistent with their cultural orientation while younger children did not. The results suggest that the outcomes of culturally relevant socialization are not readily apparent until the later stages of middle childhood.
Aaker, J. L., & Maheswaran, D. (1997). The effect of cultural orientation on persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research, 24, 315–328. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.945457
2.
An, B., & Shin, W. W (2017). The association of cultural dispositions and psychological health with morality among university students in South Korea. International Information Institute (Tokyo). Information, 20(8B), 6129–6136.
3.
Beach, L. R. (2009). Decision making: Linking narratives and action. Narrative Inquiry, 19, 393–414. doi: 10.1075/ni.19.2.10bea
4.
Bettelheim, B. (2010). The uses of enchantment: The meaning and importance of fairy tales.New York, NY: Vintage.
5.
Bruner, J. S. (2009). Actual minds, possible worlds.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
6.
Callahan, D. (1980). Goals in the teaching of ethics. In
D.Callahan, &
S.Bok, (Eds.), Ethics teaching in higher education (pp. 6180). New York, NY: Plenum Press. doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-3138-4_2
7.
Constantine, M. G., Gainor, K. A., Ahluwalia, M. K., & Berkel, L. A (2003). Independent and interdependent self-construals, individualism, collectivism, and harmony control in African Americans. Journal of Black Psychology, 29, 87–101. doi: 10.1177/0095798402239230
8.
Dehghani, M., Sachdeva, S., Ekhtiari, H., Gentner, D., & Forbus, K. D (2009). The role of cultural narratives in moral decision making. In
TaatgenN. & RijnH. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 1912–1917). Austin, TX: University of Texas.
9.
Elkind, D. (1998). All grown up and no place to go: Teenagers in crisis(Revised ed).Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145221
10.
Fischer, P. L., & Torney, J. V (1976). Influence of children’s stories on dependency, a sex-typed behavior. Developmental Psychology, 12, 489–490. doi: 10.1037//0012-1649.12.5.489
11.
Greenfield, P. M., Keller, H., Fuligni, A., & Maynard, A. (2003). Cultural pathways through universal development. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 461–490. doi: 10.1037//0012-1649.12.5.489
12.
Haste, H., & Abrahams, S. (2008) Morality, culture and the dialogic self: Taking cultural pluralism seriously. Journal of Moral Education, 37, 357–374.
13.
Herskovits, M. J., & Herskovits, F. S (1958). Dahomean narrative: A cross-cultural analysis.Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
14.
Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
15.
Holdaway, D. (1982). Shared book experience: Teaching reading using favourite books. Theory into Practice, 21, 293–300. doi: 10.1080/00405848209543021
16.
Hyatt, P. R. (2011). The quite contrary man: A true American tale.New York, NY: Harry Abrams.
Kohlberg, L., & Gilligan, C. (1971). The adolescent as a philosopher: The discovery of the self in a post-conventional world. Daedalus, 100, 1051–1086.
19.
Kuttler, S., Myles, B. S., & Carlson, J. K (1998). The use of social stories to reduce precursors to tantrum behavior in a student with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 13, 176–182. doi: 10.1177/108835769801300306
20.
Leseman, P. P. M. (2002), June. Early childhood education and care for children from low-income or minority backgrounds. Paper presented at the OECD Workshop, Oslo, Norway. Retrieved fromhttp://www.oecd.org/education/school/1960663.pdf
21.
Lewis, A., Maras, P., & Simonds, L. (2000). Young children working together: A measure of individualism/collectivism. Child Care, Health and Development, 26, 229–238. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2214.2000.00141.x
22.
Marcia, J. E. (1980). Identity in adolescence. In
J.Adelson(Ed.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 109–137). New York, NY: Wiley.
23.
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253. doi: 10.1037//0033-295x.98.2.224
24.
Mead, G. H. (1962). Mind, self, and society.Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
25.
Morling, B., & Lamoreaux, M. (2008). Measuring culture outside the head: A meta-analysis of individualism—collectivism in cultural products. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12, 199–221. doi: 10.1177/1088868308318260
26.
Nucci, L. P., & Gingo, M. (2011). The development of moral reasoning. In U. Goswami (Ed.), Wiley-Blackwell handbook of children’s cognitive development (2nd edition, pp. 420–445). New York, NY. Wiley. doi: 10.1002/9781444325485.ch16
27.
Otto, M. W. (2000). Stories and metaphors in cognitive-behavior therapy. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 7, 166–172. doi: 10.1016/s1077-7229(00)80027-9
28.
Oyserman, D., Coon, H. M., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2002). Rethinking individualism and collectivism: Evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 3–72. doi: 10.1037//0033-2909.128.1.3
29.
Pentland, B. T. (1999). Building process theory with narrative: From description to explanation. Academy of Management Review, 24, 711–724. doi: 10.2307/259350
30.
Piyatissa, K. (1994). Buddha’s tales for young and old, Prince Goodspeaker, Volume 1.New York, NY: Buddhist Literature Society.
31.
Sanchez, T. (2006). The man who could have been king: The storyteller’s guide to character education. Journal of Social Studies Research, 30, 3–9.
32.
Sansosti, F. J., & Powell-Smith, K. A. (2006). Using social stories to improve the social behavior of children with Asperger syndrome. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 8, 43–57. doi: 10.1177/10983007060080010601
33.
Sarbin, T. R. (1986). The narrative as a root metaphor for psychology.New York, NY: Praeger/Greenwood.
34.
Sekhar, A. C., & Govinda, P. B (2012). Individualistic and collectivistic orientations of rural and urban professional students and their attitudes towards fairness in appraisals and procedures in HRM. Paripex-Indian Journal of Research, 3, 209–210. doi: 10.15373/22501991/may2014/64
35.
Shweder, R. A., Mahapatra, M., & Miller, J. G (1987). Culture and moral development. In
J.StiglerR.Schweder & G.Herdt(Eds.). Cultural psychology (pp. 130–204). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. doi: 10.1017/cbo9781139173728.005
36.
Smetana, J. G., Jambon, M., Conry-Murray, C., & Storge-Apple, M. (2012). Reciprocal associations between your children’s moral judgments and their developing theory of mind. Developmental Psychology, 48, 1144–1153. doi: 10.1037/a0025891
37.
Spence, D. P. (1984). Narrative truth and historical truth: Meaning and interpretation in psychoanalysis.New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
38.
Tappan, M. B., & Brown, L. M (1989). Stories told and lessons learned: Toward a narrative approach to moral development and moral education. Harvard Educational Review, 59, 182–206. doi: 10.17763/haer.59.2.d364up55vx875411
39.
Teglasi, H., & Rothman, L. (2001). Stories a classroom-based program to reduce aggressive behavior. Journal of School Psychology, 39, 71–94. doi: 10.1016/s0022-4405(00)00060-1
40.
Tulving, E., & Murray, D. (1985). Elements of episodic memory. Canadian Psychology, 26, 235–238.
41.
Tulving, E., & Markowitsch, H. J (1998). Episodic and declarative memory: Role of the hippocampus. Hippocampus, 8, 198–204. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-1063(1998)8:3<198::AID-HIP02>3.0.C0;2-G
42.
Vitz, P. C. (1990). The use of stories in moral development: New psychological reasons for an old education method. American Psychologist, 45, 709–720. doi: 10.1037/0003-066x.45.6.709
43.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1980). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-92784-6.
44.
Yu, A. B. & Yang, K. S. (1994). The nature of achievement motivation in collectivist societies. In U. Kim, H. C. Triandis, C. Kagitcibasi, S. C. Choi, & G, Yoon (Eds.), Individualism and collectivism: Theory, method and applications (pp. 239–250). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
45.
Zabel, M. (1991). Storytelling, myths, and folk tales: Strategies for multicultural inclusion. Preventing School Failure, 32, 7–12. doi: 10.1080/1045988x.1991.9944582
Zimet, S. F. (1966). Children’s interest and story preferences: A critical review of the literature. The Elementary School Journal, 67, 122–130. doi: 10.1086/460347
