Independence and Obedience: An Analysis of Child Socialization Values in the United States and China

The United States and China are two societies with distinctive cultures. Common to many of the discussions of American culture is the perception that Americans value individual independence. Chinese culture, on the other hand, is said to emphasize individual conformity. Using data from the World Values Survey 19901993, the author examines patterns of child socialization values in the United States and China. Empirical evidence provides little support for the conventional assumptions. In fact, Americans in the 1990s are much more likely than Chinese to value children’s obedience. Chinese, on the other hand, are more likely than Americans to endorse children’s independence. The study also finds that, despite of cross-national differences in dominant religion, cultural tradition, and political system, Americans and Chinese are quite similar in their thinking of the kinds of things to teach children at home. Among the top six values endorsed within each country, five are identical. Sources and implications of the findings are discussed.