U.S. and Chinese preschoolers' compliance and regulatory behaviours in two challenging contexts

Abstract

AbstractChildren are expected to self‐regulate their behaviour, even in emotionally charged situations. Yet, such expectations for self‐regulation, the degree to which compliance is expected, and the specific regulatory behaviours deemed desirable, vary by culture, age of child, and specific situation. In this study, 34 Chinese (17 females) and 39 U.S. (19 females) preschoolers were observed and compared in two socioemotionally challenging situations. Children's compliance to explicit and implicit rules, their regulatory behaviours, and the associations between regulatory behaviours and rule compliance were analysed across the two samples. U.S. children showed greater resistance to temptation and similar levels of repair of mishap as compared to Chinese children. In addition, Chinese children used more avoidance and self‐soothing strategies and fewer distractive strategies than U.S. children. The effectiveness of regulatory behaviours in predicting rule compliance varied by both task condition and cultural group. Object and self distractions were associated with lower rule compliance in the mishap task. Social distraction was positively predictive of U.S. children's rule compliance in the mishap task, but negatively associated with their compliance in the temptation task. Social distraction was unhelpful for Chinese children's compliance in both tasks. The complexities of cultural variations and dynamics in their relations to children's rule compliance and regulatory behaviours are discussed.