West and East
Professor Lilly Cheng
San Diego State University
lcheng@mail.sdsu.edu
West and East
Individualistic VS. Collaborative
I am special.
I am unique.
I am me.
I am an individual.
I am who I am.
I am a rational agent.
I am responsible for my own
action.
I am part of my family.
I am part of my community.
I am part of my country.
The goodness of the whole is
more important than the
individual.
My actions directly impact my
family and my community.
West and East
West Brian, East Brian
how deeply culture—the language we speak,
the values we absorb—shapes the brain
Cultural neuroscience (culture reflects on different regions of the brain)
Psychologist Nalini Ambady (2009)
showed drawings of people in a
submissive pose (head down,
shoulders hunched) or a dominant one
(arms crossed, face forward) to
Japanese and Americans.
The brain's dopamine-fueled reward
circuit became most active at the sight
of the stance
Japanese response to submissive
poses while Americans response to
dominant poses
The Americans
showed more
activity in regions
that recognize
objects.
The Asians showed
more activity in areas
that process figureground relations—
holistic context
West and East
Individualistic VS. Collaborative
Self
What is the meaning of
family?
Case study: Cho
West and East
Individualistic VS. Collaborative
Lifestyle
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West
and East
•The Difference
Between
West and East
Independence
Develop early independence
Express yourself
Responsible for self
Live on one’s own
One’s own goals take priority
Motivated by own
preferences, needs ,
rights
Tasks more important than
relationships
Cognitive skills independent of
social skills
Interdependence
Learn to depend on others
Read nonverbal cues
Listen to authority
Be responsible for others
Personal goals secondary to goals
of the group
Motivated by the norms of, and
duties imposed by, the group
Relationships more important
than tasks
Social and cognitive skills
integrated
Westby (2009)
West
and East
•The Difference
Between
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How is a child taken care of?
•Individualistic VS. Collaborative
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and East
•The Difference
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a seniorvs.
life
looks like?
•How
Individualism
Collectivism
•Individualistic VS. Collaborative
•The Difference
Between
West and East
West
and East
Individualistic VS. Collaborative
Power Distance
Low Power Distance
Persons must earn respect
Collaborative classrooms
Teachers facilitate learning
Persons direct themselves
High Power Distance
Parents teach children to
obey
Children respect parents &
those in authority
Teachers take initiative in
class
Teachers are to transfer
wisdom
Students respect teachers
Persons expect direction
•The Difference
Between
West and East
West
and East
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Individualistic VS. Collaborative
Leadership
Power Distance
+
Pakistan Columbia
Individualism
Costa Rica
Hong Kong
Mexico
Greece
Turkey
Iran
Brazil
Small Power Distance
Low Individualism
Japan
Israel
Spain
Finland
+
Singapore
Korea
Chile
-
Norway
Denmark
Canada
New Zealand
Small Power Distance
Britain
High Individualism
USA
Australia
Guatamala
India
Malaysia
Philippines
Large Power Distance
Low Individualism
South Africa
Italy
France
Belgium
Large Power Distance
High Individualism
Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture’s consequences: International differences in workrelated values. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
WestBetween
and East
•The Difference
west and East
Forms of Discourse
•
Linear
•
Circular
The Difference
WestBetween
and EastWest and
East
Thought Process
CULTURAL THOUGHT PATTERNS IN
INTER-CULTURAL EDUCATION
“ Some Oriental writing, ……. is marked by
what may be called an approach by indirection. In this kind of
writing, the development of the paragraph may be said to be "turning
and turning in a widening gyre." The circles or gyres turn
around the subject and show it from a variety of tangential views,
Things are developed
in terms of what they are not, rather than in terms of what
they are. Again, such a development in a modern English paragraph
would strike the English reader as awkward and unnecessarily indirect. “
but the subject is never looked at directly.
Robert B. Kaplan
University of Southern California
West and East
•The Difference Between West and East
•
Problem Solving
Chinese CultureAs the sayings go
俗話說：人往高處走；可俗話又說：爬得高，摔得重!
As the saying goes, men go upward; on the other hand, it
says: the higher you climb up, the harder you fall.
俗話說：金錢不是萬能的；可俗話又說：有錢能使鬼推磨！
Money is not everything, however, money rules all.
Chinese CultureAs the sayings go
俗話說：青出於藍而勝於藍；可俗話又說：薑還是老的辣！
Blue comes from the indigo plant but is bluer than the
plant itself—the pupils exceed the master; however, Old
gingers are spicy- the master is still the master.
俗話說：人人為我，我為人人；可俗話又說：人不為己，
天誅地滅！
Everyone works for me; I work for everyone, however,
every man is for himself.
•The Difference Between
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and
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East and West
Definitions of Education
West
(Latin) which comes
from a verb
“educere” which
means to lead, draw,
and bring out
the horizontal
“drawing out” of
wisdom into vision
East
Teaching (教)
Nurturing (養)
•The Difference Between
West
and
East
East and West
Education
US pays great attention to train
the students’ practice ability to
utilize the knowledge, cultivating
the students’ question to the
knowledge and authority and
building the ability to extend the
knowledge system.
Taiwan’s education pays more
attention to the instilling and
accumulation of knowledge,
cultivating the students’ respect
to the knowledge and authority
and building the ability to
inherit the knowledge system.
 The acceptance to knowledge
 The dynamic changes to  Structured
 Consistence
knowledge.
 Unstructured
 Freedom
West and East
Social Relationships
West
East
Informal, egalitarian.
People most comfortable
with their social equals;
importance of social
rankings minimized.
Formal, hierarchical.
People most comfortable
in the presence of a
hierarchy in which they
know their position and
the customs/rules for
behavior in the situation.
•The Difference Between
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and
East
East and West
Teachers
American teachers were
more knowledgeable
about general educational
theories and classroom
skills.
 Evokes creative thinking.
 Encourage students to
challenge the knowledge.
 Teaching atmosphere
lively and vivid.
…………….
 Chinese teachers had
stronger knowledge of the
subject matter and
building the solid
foundation.
 Spend more time with
their students.
 Persistence.
 Authority figure.
………..
West and East
Students
West
Self-confidence
Independence
Curiosity
Free thinking
……..
East
Discipline
Obey
Good observers
Patient
Respectful
Afraid of making
mistakes
…………
Questions?
Thank You
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