1. E-mail: ebk141@mail.harvard.edu, ges612@mail.harvard.edu & kcorriv@fas.harvard.edu Results: Parenting & Line Judgments ► Parents’ autonomy scores are significantly related to children’s line judgments (F(5,84) = 9.25, p <. 001, R 2 =. 32). The slope for 1st generation children and the slope for 2nd generation children are significantly different from the slope for the Caucasian-American children. ► Asian-American parents who scored higher in their autonomy scores had children who made more autonomous judgments. Similarly, Asian-American parents with lower autonomy scores had children who were more likely to acquiesce to the majority. Conclusions & Future Directions Conclusions & Discussion ► Asian-American children were more likely to defer to the consensus compared to their Caucasian-American peers. This suggests that a socially driven mode of decision-making might be stronger among Asian-American preschoolers, and that this pattern may be related to parenting styles. ► Length of stay in the US may influence parental views on autonomy, which may in turn, influence the strategies young children use when judging what to affirm in public. We predict that family discourse focusing on conformity rather than individual choice should be marked in 1 st generation Asian-American parents, but should decrease with time spent in the US. Future Directions ► Future research should consider other factors such as parental behaviors or speech that might prove to be a stronger predictor of cultural differences in children’s decision-making. ► Future studies should also consider exploring decision-making measures other than making visual judgments. Alternative measures include moral decision-making as well as making judgments in other perceptual realms. Cultural Differences in Parenting Styles influence Children’s Deference to a Consensus Elizabeth B. Kim, Ge Song, Kathleen H. Corriveau, Paul L. Harris Introduction ► When preschoolers are faced with a conflict between perceptual evidence and majority opinion, a considerable minority (40%) defer to the majority. Moreover, the rate of deference is higher among Asian-American children than among Caucasian-American children (Corriveau & Harris, 2010). ► To examine this culture difference as well as potential acculturation effects, the present study compares the rates of conformity among three subject groups (Caucasian-American, 1st generation, and 2nd generation Asian-American preschoolers). ► Research on cultural differences in parent-child interactions has demonstrated that Asian American mothers emphasize more parental control than Caucasian American parents (Lin & Fu, 1990). ► To further explore whether parenting style might influence children’s willingness to acquiesce to an adult consensus, this study also measures the encouragement of autonomy in parenting styles across culture. Research Questions Method ► Participants: A total of 98 preschoolers aged 36-72 months (M = 4;3, SD = 8 months) participated in this study. 28 were Caucasian-American, 41 were 1 st generation Asian-American, and 19 were 2 nd generation Asian- American preschoolers. ► Procedure: Pretest Trials. Children saw pictures of three lines and were asked to point to the “big line.” We measured children’s ability to make accurate perceptual judgments without the presence of a majority. Test Trials. Children received 8 test trials in which they watched a video where three informants (peers or adults) were asked to point to the “big line” but instead all pointed to the same smaller line. Children were then asked which line they thought was the “big one.” Pretest Trial Test Trial Figure 1. Pretest and Test Trial Culture: Does the rate of deference differ between Caucasian-American, and 1 st and 2 nd generation Asian-American children? Parenting: Does parenting style affect children’s decision-making? HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION Autonomy: 10 questions Ex. 1. Parents should protect their children from things that might make them unhappy. 2. Children should be given most of the things they want. Results: Culture & Line Judgments ► Overall, 53% of preschoolers deferred to the claims made by a unanimous majority (either composed of adults or children) at least once. This supports previous findings on children’s tendencies to defer to claims made by a majority (Corriveau & Harris, 2010). ► First-generation Asian-Americans made more errors than Caucasian-American preschoolers (p=.001), whereas second-generation Asian-Americans made no more errors than Caucasian-American preschoolers. ► Parent-Child Relationship Inventory (Gerard, 1994) 94% of parents completed this survey, measuring parental views on autonomy. Autonomy scale: the extent to which parents endorse autonomous displays by their children, on a scale from 1= strongly agree to 4= strongly disagree Children’s Rate of Deference by Culture Figure 2. Proportion of children who conformed to the majority response on at least one trial by cultural group. 2 nd Generation1 st GenerationCaucasian Figure 4. Correlation between autonomy scores and children’s line judgments Total Autonomous Judgments (out of 8) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1213141516171819202122232425262728293031 Low Autonomy Caucasian 1st Generation 2nd Generation High Autonomy Parents’ Autonomy Scores & Children’s Line Judgements