Introduction
There is a strong belief among cultural anthropologists that personality is developed when a person gets assimilated with certain cultural practices within his/her society. As a person grows from an infant to an adult, he or she learns formal and informal elements of his/her culture. Consequently, such a person is shaped gradually to conform to the culture in question, both in personality and identity. This is the reason why people with different cultural backgrounds tend to exhibit varying personal identities. In most of the cases, a change in the cultural context results in changing the personality of a person (Miller, 2007). This not only affects this person’s identity, but his/her well-being over the life cycle as well. This paper illustrates how cultural beliefs and traditions that Chinese and Japanese people observe through their lifecycles (infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, middle age, and senior years) shape these people’s personalities and identities.
The Infancy Stage
The treatment of a child at the infancy stage largely affects the formation of this child’s identity. This is why cultural traditions connected with this period of child’s development often have an influence on what the child grows up to be. An interesting feature of the Chinese society is gender discrimination present already at this stage. The Chinese do not significantly value the baby girls for the latter are regarded as a liability to the family. In the past, there were cases when the girls were sold to work as servants in China. Poor socialization among the girl child at the infant age led to the society not being conscious of its needs. This eventually leads to girls developing low personal esteem (Knapp, 2006).
What else should be mentioned is that sleeping traditions are also important for the development of the child’s personality. Miller (2007) asserts that “where and with whom the infant sleeps may also be related to the development of connected or autonomous personalities” (p. 152). Strong ego is formatted when the mother does not co-sleep with her child, whereas little sense of interpersonal connectedness (weak ego) is observed in those children who co-sleep with their parents for long.
As far as the Chinese infants are concerned, there are no special beliefs as for co-sleeping with a child. However, the studies show that more than a half of Chinese women sleep with their infants in the marital bed considering them too little to sleep alone (McKenna, 2002). While Chinese mothers are uncertain as for the necessity of co-sleeping with the child, the Japanese ones “co-sleep for several years longer, on average, than other world cultures” (Miller, 2007, p. 152). A high degree of social connectedness of the Japanese serves as a bright example of how co-sleeping affects the ego formation and interpersonal connectedness.
The Childhood Stage
The childhood experiences are no less important for the formation of a person’s identity. Here, the mother and her treatment of a child play the major role. In China, for instance, mothers spend most of time with their children. They educate and discipline them; at this, however, they do not conceal from children that rearing them is hard. This all results in the mother of the Chinese man becoming “the emotional center of his life” (Knapp. 2006, p. 165).
In Japan, however, the children adopt the role of a “helper” from their childhood. They often share household jobs with their mothers, which makes them learn to be responsible and concerned for the others. According to Miller (2007), such childhood experiences lead to the development of nurturant-responsible personality, which means that Japanese children are caring.
Adolescence
Adolescence is also an important stage in the identity formation. Owing to certain cultural peculiarities, Chinese people have submissive personalities. They have a great respect for those who are older, as well as for the traditions of their nation. The Chinese adolescents grow up on the folktales “about dragons, love, magic, the supernatural, history, and legend” (Howard & Walsh, 2001, p. 328). Of these, the romantic stories often prepare the adolescents for what expects them in the future, namely the suppression of individual choice in case with their marriage. Most of the Chinese marriages are prearranged and this is hardly ever disputed in the families. Chinese adolescents agree to the parents’ choice of their future spouse. The same goes for the most of other choices, such as those of future profession, education, and sometimes even friends. This submission to their parents makes most of the Chinese adolescents agreeable, quite often not only with their parents. Thus, Chinese traditions develop an important personality trait in the adolescents, namely, agreeableness.
In case with the Japanese, the stage of adolescence is characterized by vivid gender distinction. This is when the boys get prepared for their role as a head of the family and become industrious. Such a separation of roles (working for men and being a housewife for women) fosters submissiveness in Japanese females, as well as conscientiousness in males. The adolescence stage at which decisions regarding marriages (usually prearranged) are made is crucial for the formation of Japanese people’s identity.
Adulthood, Middle Age, and Senior Years
The development of a person’s identity at these stages largely depends on how properly he/she was developed at the previous ones. Chinese and Japanese cultures are similar in their traditions in the adulthood (starting from entering the marriage), middle age, and senior years. Both the cultures value family relations in which the father is the head. The women adopt the role of the caregivers, while the men ensure financial welfare of the family. The Chinese, as well as the Japanese, families can be characterized by harmony, which accounts for the lack of neuroticism in most of the family members. In harmonic families, the parents rarely argue and the children are less exposed to stress. Consequently, Chinese people are less neurotic, and they rarely experience anger, depressed mood, or anxiety. Finally, in both China and Japan, people in their late middle age and senior years are highly revered and respected. This frees the elderly Chinese and Japanese people from seeking for new ways to gain personal satisfaction and self-esteem (Miller, 2007).
Conclusion
Therefore, it has been shown that cultural beliefs and traditions have a great affect on personality formation and development. For instance, gender discrimination at the infancy stage in China leads to the females’ gaining low self-esteem, while the mothers’ co-sleeping with their infants results in Japanese people’s high degree of social connectedness. Additionally, Chinese traditional folktales make adolescents who grow up on them agreeable, whereas the separation of roles in the Japanese families breeds conscientiousness in males and submissiveness in the females. Lastly, in case with both the cultures, faithfulness to the traditions and respect for the elderly people accounts for the latter’s sufficient level of personal satisfaction and self-esteem.
Reference
Howard, G. & Walsh, B. (2001). An Introduction to Chinese Culture through the Family. New York: State University of New York Press.
Knapp, K. (2006). A Tender Voyage: Children and Childhood in Late Imperial China. The Journal of Asian Studies, 65(1), 165-166. Web.
McKenna, J. (2002). Breastfeeding & Bedsharing Still Useful (and Important) after All These Years. Mothering 114, 4-9.
Miller, B. D. (2007). Cultural anthropology (Custom 4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.