Module 5 Asian Americans
7. The 45 second East vs. West worldview video clip presents 4 contrasts: Boasting vs Being Modest; Ever Changing vs Predictable Environment; Tradition and Seniority vs Performance; and Individuality vs Harmony. Of the four pairs of ideas, which one of the following terms is associated more with an EASTERN or Asian worldview?
whatever!
13. In the study of Chinese and American students in the powerpoint, where they read about a conflict and suggested a resolution to the conflict, what was the result?
A study a group of Chinese and Western students asked each to read some stories about interpersonal conflicts and suggest an outcome of the conflict. Some students resolved the conflict by saying both people were partly wrong and they suggested a third, compromise way out. Some students saw one or the other person as wrong and the cause of problems. They resolved it by having one who was not wrong "win" the conflict. Difference Students who said Both are partly to blame and suggest a compromise or third way out 75% were Chinese 25% were Westerners One is wrong, the other is right and the right one should prevail. 75% were Westerners 25% were Chinese Something is going on
12. A common expression in several East Asian cultures is "the peg that stands out is pounded down," To what principle of social relations does this refer?
There is an Asian expression that reflects a cultural prejudice against individuality: "The peg that stands out is pounded down." In general, East Asians are supposed to be less concerned with personal goals or self-aggrandizement than are Westerners. Group goals and coordinated action are more often the concerns. Maintaining harmonious social relations is likely to take precedence over achieving personal success. Success is often sought as a group goal rather than as a personal badge of merit.
2. The reading from Nisbett Geography of Thought said when comparing an East Asian pattern of thinking to a Western pattern, the Asian pattern is more likely to see:
Westerners have a strong interest in categorization, which helps them to know what rules to apply to the objects in question, and formal logic plays a role in problem solving. East Asians, in contrast, attend to objects in their broad context. The world seems more complex to Asians than to Westerners, and understanding events always requires consideration of a host of factors that operate in relation to one another in no simple, deterministic way. Formal logic plays little role in problem solving. In fact, the person who is too concerned with logic may be considered immature.
6. Which one of the following did Nisbett Geography of Thought find in many East Asian social contexts?
A study asking Japanese and Americans to describe themselves either in particular contexts or without specifying a particular kind of situation showed that Japanese found it very difficult to describe themselves without specifying a particular kind of situation - at work, at home, with friends, etc. Americans, in contrast, tended to be stumped when the investigator specified a context - "I am what I am." When describing themselves, Asians make reference to social roles ("I am Joan's friend") to a much greater extent than Americans do. Another study found that twice as many Japanese as American self-descriptions referred to other people ("I cook dinner with my sister").
9. Nisbett in Geography of Thought describes an experiment that compared Westerners and East Asian students. Researchers wanted to see what happened after doing poorly on a test versus doing did very well. What did they find?
An experiment by Steven Heine and his colleagues captures the difference between the Western push to feel good about the self and the Asian drive for self-improvement. The experimenters asked Canadian and Japanese students to take a bogus "creativity" test and then gave the students "feedback" indicating that they had done very well or very badly. The experimenters then secretly observed how long the participants worked on a similar task. The Canadians worked longer on the, task if they had succeeded the Japanese worked longer if they failed. The Japanese weren't being masochistic. They simply saw an opportunity for self improvement and took it. The study has intriguing implications for skill development in both the East and West. Westerners are likely to get very good at a few things they start out doing well to begin with. Easterners seem more likely to become Jacks and Jills of all trades.
4. In her book, Cultural Foundations of Learning, the Western and Eastern intellectual traditions are contrasted. Which of the following is part of the Eastern but NOT the Western tradition?
By contrast, Easterners see the world as fluid and interconnected. In the Eastern world view, there is an awareness of the unity and the mutual inter‑relation of all things and events. Eastern worldview encourages experiencing all phenomena in the world as manifestation of a basic oneness. All things are seen as interdependent and inseparable parts of a cosmic whole, as different manifestations of the same ultimate reality. Different Eastern traditions refer to this ultimate, indivisible reality as Brahman in Hinduism, Dharmakaya in Buddhism and Tao in Taoism. Part and Whole
5. The book review of Cultural Foundations of Learning says "Chinese students outperform American students because they are socialized to identify with a very different conception of what it means to be a person." Which of the following describes the Chinese conception?
Chinese students outperform American students because they are socialized to identify with a very different conception of what it means to be a person: in Chinese society, personhood is a moral concept. It is something that must be perfected over time through the continuous cultivation of moral virtues (ren, filial piety, learning, modesty, effort, perseverance, celebration of achievement, etc.). In contrast, American society is organized around the primacy of the individual. This is expressed in values such as independence, self-expression, and the pursuit of happiness. Thus, for American students, learning is not a moral imperative. Students do not approach learning as a vehicle for the cultivation of purpose or for perfecting character (Damon, 2008). Instead, they tend to view learning a practical activity performed to attain more discrete, socially sanctioned outcomes (e.g., grades, credentials, jobs, income, status, etc.). This is, perhaps, why it is so difficult to motivate deep learning in American students. We learn in order to get the prize; we do not approach learning as an endeavor to cultivate a worthy self.
15. There are many sources of contact between East (East Asia especially China) and West (Europe), which came first historically or started before the rest?
For many centuries East and West had little contact. Despite some trade and exchange, until the European explorers/imperialists arrived in the 1700s interchange was very limited. Earliest contact included: The famous "Silk Road" linked trade across China, India, Iraq to Rome and Europe, it was used from 2000 BC to 1500 AD Marco Polo traveled to China and back (1200s AD) Genghis Khan conquered most of Asia and Eastern Europe around 1200 AD.
1. Comparing the East Asia principle of "harmony" to the Western one of "agency," which of the following is more characteristic of the Western principle of agency?
The ethnic homogeneity of China seems at least partly explicable in terms of the" centralized political control. In addition, the face-to-face village life of China would have pressed in the direction of harmony and agreed-upon norms for behavior. Seeing little difference of opinion, and finding disagreement sanctioned from above or from peers where it did exist, the Chinese would have had little use for procedures to decide which of two propositions was correct. Instead, finding means to resolve disagreements would have been the goal. Hence, the push to find the Middle Way. What we need is a discussion of ways to foster American versions of moral self-cultivation. Such a movement would draw upon the traditional Western concerns with agency, self-determination, conscience, community, and public virtue. It would reinvigorate the values of learning and hard work, both as core virtues in themselves and the means by which virtuous selves are cultivated.
3. Compared to someone with a Western worldview, Nisbett in Geography of Thought says a person who operates with an Asian world view tends to do which of the following?
Westerners have a strong interest in categorization, which helps them to know what rules to apply to the objects in question, and formal logic plays a role in problem solving. East Asians, in contrast, attend to objects in their broad context. The world seems more complex to Asians than to Westerners, and understanding events always requires consideration of a host of factors that operate in relation to one another in no simple, deterministic way. Formal logic plays little role in problem solving. In fact, the person who is too concerned with logic may be considered immature.
