Another interesting perspective on the North American obsession with
self-espression in talk is the film by Tobin, Wo & Davidson, Preschool in
Three Cultures (the book is by the same authors and was published by Yale
University Press). In the U.S. preschool but not in the Chinese or
Yapanese Preschools, the children are encouraged to put every thought and
action into words. THey are asked to come up with verbal metaphors for
cloud-shapes. They are asked to resolve their disputes by discussion.
They are asked to express their feelings verbally. Observers of the film
from either Japan or China remarked that the means used to resolve
disputes reminded them of marital therapy. THis was not a compliment.
Ellice Forman
Department of Psychology in Education
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA