思いやりの文化的基盤 : 就学前教育にみる他者理解の比較文化的研究
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概要
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Many studies suggest that most important aspect of self in Japan is "Omoiyari-self".'Omoi' means considering others, while 'yari' (noun form of 'yaru') means sending or offering something to others. Thus, omoiyari generally refers to a way of thinking and acting considerate of oneself and others. Japanese children are socialized and taught early by their parents at home and teachers at school to express one's feelings and respond to other people's feelings according to this concept of omoiyari which is often mentioned as among the top childrearing goals of Japanese caregivers. Based on learning reinforcement theory, growing up in such environment that emphasized interdependent relationship and consideration of others, Japanese children would be expected to develop their understanding of others much earlier than children raised in a culture that emphasizes independence and self-assertiveness. However, recent cross-cultural studies have found that Japanese children are slower or delayed to achieve this developmental stage of understanding others' perspectives and feelings compared to their Western counterparts.In other words, although Japanese culture seems to support the early development of children's understanding of other people's perspectives and feelings through the emphasis of omoiyari in everyday socialization experience of Japanese children, the empirical findings on children's understanding of others not only do not support the cultural account but even shown the opposite finding (i.e., delayed development). To better understand this contradiction it is necessary to examine the concept of omoiyari in the context of Japanese culture more carefully by identifying its cultural transmission strategies (i.e.,meaning) and the underlying processes for developing omoiyari.In a review of ethnographic studies of Japanese preschools, we found that omoyari has three key parts-empathy, motivation for prosocial behavior, and sasshi-intuitive understanding of others' situation. It appears that a key to understanding the Japanese concept of omoiyari, is the understanding of the concept of sasshi. Most difficult issues in cross-cultural research are finding appropriate contexts and translations equivalents for experiences and discovering whether particular words or strategies have the same cultural meaning. Often, behaviors that appear to be the same (e.g., negative parenting)have different effects on children depending on culture and environment. In this study,we asked Japanese and American preschool teachers how to respond children's behavior and it showed that sasshi enhanced strategy is more frequent among Japanese than Americans. We also discuss socio-cultural aspects of omoiyari and how and why thestrategies used to develop it may be different in different socialization contexts despite underlying similarities in school settings and in the basic physiological processes that drive emotional experiences.
- 東京女子大学比較文化研究所の論文