User:Mc Ra Spring 2008
こんにちは！
1. I prefer a Flickr project.
2. I would like to study student subcultures in Athens. My group and I have decided to use the group of Chinese students at Ohio University as our focus.
3. I have a digital camera. I've always loved to take pictures too, so I'm very familiar with my camera.
Norms Across Culture[edit]
- I want to do a YouTube project.
- It is about dating norms in a America and China and how students change when they move to a new country.
- Link: 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLfY1alL6W4
- I am working with User:qi_ni_spring_2008 and User:mo_sr_spring_2008
- Concepts from Stark's book:
Concept: Norms
Relevant Quote: "[Norms] are rules governing behavior. Norms define what behavior is required, acceptable, or prohibited in particular circumstances. They indicate that a person should or mush act (or must not act) in certain ways at certain times" (40).
How I use this idea: We looked at what the rules are for dating in both the American culture and the Chinese culture This was the basis of our video.
Concept: Secondary and Primary Groups
Relevant Quote: "Primary groups are characterized by great intimacy among the members. People in these groups do not merely know one another and interact frequently, but they also have strong emotional ties. as a result people gain much of their self-esteem and sense of identity from primary groups" (14).
"Secondary groups consist of less intimate groups within which people pursue various collective goals but without the same consuming sense of belonging" (14).
How I use this idea: In our video, we point out that the Americans at the college would be considered to be a secondary group because they are new to the country. They don't have strong emotional attachments with them because they are new to the country.
Concept: Reference Groups
Relevant Quote: "[The concept of reference groups] refers to the groups that individuals identify with, the groups whose norms values serve as the basis for self-judgement. In an important sense, or reference groups are the audiences before whom we lead or lives--the people whose approval counts most with us. A reference gourp nee dnot actually be present to influence a person's behavior. Even if no member of our reference group can actually see what we are doing, we can still act on the basis of how that group would react" (58).
How I use this idea: In the video, we point out that the reference groups (like family and friends) are not in America. They are in China, so they won't see them and judge them. That means they have more freedom to act how they want here than in China.
- Concept from further research:
Concept: Do not generalize dating
Relevant Quotes: "You're bound to get into trouble if you assume that for all Chinese, dating is the same. You'll meet people who were born in the United States and have never lived in China, but who still follow traditional Chinese culture. You'll also find people who moved here as adults but are completely comfortable with American-style dating. And of course, you'll find everything in between as well. What that means is that there's not really any such thing as "Chinese dating." As with any dating situations, it's about getting to know a unique person, their outlook on life, and their personal interests, hopes and dreams."
"As with any culture, not everyone from China shares the same beliefs. Still, there are some attitudes about dating that are common among the Chinese. An important one is the involvement of family. In the United States, we're used to the idea that we make our own choices about whom we date and whom we marry. But in traditional Chinese families, the parents may expect to have a say. Issues that often emerge include: Age. Parents may want daughters to marry older men. This is because older men have had more time to become established, earn some money, and provide a stable home. Men, on the other hand, are not expected to marry older women. Ethnic background. Some native Chinese object to racial differences. In fact, it can be considered disgraceful to marry someone of another race. Family connections. Chinese parents may prefer their children to date people who are already known to the family, or whose backgrounds the parents have explored. Traditional Chinese family connections include an extended network of aunts, uncles, cousins, and so on. Parents may feel more secure if someone in that network can vouch for the person their child is dating. "Saving face." Traditional Chinese families believe that the actions of any family member reflect back on the family as a whole. Dating the wrong person can bring disgrace or embarrassment to the entire family. Parental pressure. Because family is very important in Chinese culture, it can be incredibly difficult for a Chinese person to go against the family's wishes. A person may be an independent adult in every other way but still feel obligated to accept their parents' decision about whom to marry. Parents may even threaten to disown a child who defies their wishes.
How I use this: When we came up with the questions, we were going by traditional Chinese values. We were very confident as to what kind of answers we were going to get from both sides. However, we learned not to generalize. Sure, their values and norms will change with additional ideas and cultural influences, but there is also the chance that they thought like that before we talked to them and before they came to America. Not everyone is the same and everyone has different values.
Citation: BethS, Rick Fulks, Debbie Vasen. "Chinese Dating." Chinese Dating. 28 Apr 2007. 1 Jun 2008. <http://dating.lovetoknow.com/Chinese_Dating>.
Concept: Intercultural dating
Relevant quotes: "Ethnographic descriptions suggest that compared to European Americans, Chinese Americans place a greater emphasis on emotional moderation. To assess whether such cultural differences influence actual emotional responding, we compared the physiological responses and reported affect of 22 Chinese American and 20 European American college-age dating couples in an interpersonal context, that is, during conversations about areas of conflict in their relationship. Although some of our findings were consistent with ethnographic notions of greater emotional moderation in Chinese culture (Chinese Americans demonstrated less variable and less positive reported affect and less variable cardiac interbeat intervals than European Americans), other findings were not (Chinese Americans and European Americans did not differ in most measures of physiological responding and in reported negative affect)."
How I use it: After we did our video, we found this article. We were sure that someone else did the study, and even though they examined a different aspect of relationships, but they also got the same kind of results we got. The Chinese students and the American students had similar responses to some of the questions/situations, just like us. They aren't as different as we would think.
Citation: Tsai, J. L., & Levenson, R. W. (1997). Cultural influences on emotional responding: Chinese American and European American dating couples during interpersonal conflicts. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 28, 600-625.
Comment from Ted: This sounds like a great project. I look forward to seeing your video! I would like to see the questions you plan to ask. Basic 'how' questions are good for interviews. The cross cultural aspect is very interesting. --Htw3 (talk) 14:44, 21 May 2008 (UTC)