No abstract

Weber & Hsee (1998) proposed the “cushion effect” as an explanation of the higher risk taking observed in some East Asian samples, relative to Western samples. Yates, Lee, & Shinotsuka (1992) proposed that the overconfidence observed in most Asian countries, relative to Western countries, reflects differences in the number of arguments typically recruited in those countries. This study examined the 2 seemingly separated domains of research: risk taking and overconfidence. It compared individual and collective (both family and group) decisions among Chinese in Singapore. This permitted tests of both the cushion and the argument recruitment hypotheses. The overall results obtained no support for the cushion effect and partial support for the argument recruitment hypotheses.

In order to study the perception of Chinese parents of their children, audio-taped free descriptions of children's personality characteristics were obtained from 401 Chinese parents living in Beijing and Fuzhou. The free descriptions by parents showed that, as children's age increased, different categories of descriptors were typically used. Only for children at ages 3-5 did negative descriptors associated with the so-called "little emperor" stereotype prevail in parents' free descriptions. On the other hand, the proportion of negative descriptors in the Conscientiousness category increased with children's age. This was an indication of the persisting importance given by Chinese parents to characteristics associated with school performance, effort, and diligence. The results showed that there were no signs of a spoiling attitude in Chinese parents. The high proportions of negative descriptions given by Chinese parents should be interpreted as an expression of great concern for the future of their children, rather than as a sign of hostility towards their children.

The authors coded Chinese (n = 401) and Dutch (n = 324) parents' free descriptions of their 3- to 14-year-old children's personalities using a 14-category coding system partially based on the Big Five. Of the Chinese and Dutch personality descriptors, 86% and 77%, respectively, could be classified in the first 5 main categories resembling the five-factor model of adult personality. No significant differences were found for gender, socio-economic status, or city in these categories. Chinese parents of school age children generated many more descriptors, mostly critical, in the domain of conscientiousness. The findings reflect Chinese high achievement orientation and show that the classification system, which presently serves as a basis for developing indigenous questionnaires for personality assessment of children in China and some Western countries, is sensitive to cultural differences.