Research On Chinese And American Mothers' Influence On Their Children From The Perspective Of Cultural Values

The most beautiful calling in the world is that of mother. The greatest affection in the world is that of maternal love. Children's attachment to mothers is considered as the congenital bonding. It does not belong to any other caregivers or even fathers. Nature endows female with such feature that motherhood is the duty of female. The feature has become the decisive factor behind the great influence that mothers have on their children. Mother, as the first teacher of the child, is the architect of children's fortunes. All in all, mothers play a unique and non-substitutable role in children's development. Children are the future of a nation, so mothering characteristics not only affect children's development but also affect the nation's development.Culture Values which have universality and specificity between cultures are at the core of every culture. Mothering characteristics are influenced by Culture Values deeply. From the perspective of Cross-Culture Study, mothering characteristics vary from Chinese Culture Values to American Culture Values. With the significant influence in the world, China and the United States are two major countries which namely represent Eastern and Western Culture. The mutual understanding of Cultural Values could promote us to learn from each other. The culture syncretism and benefits from it make the Cross-Culture Study valuable. It is meaningful that this research to some extent can be an enlightenment to understand the differences between mothers' influences on their children in China and America. Learning from other's strong points may push forward the mothering process by effective cultivating and contribute to the nation's development, even to the world's development.This dissertation makes a comparative analysis of Chinese and American mothers' influence on their children based on Hofstede's Cultural Value Theory. Among the five culture dimensions, Individualism and Collectivism are considered as the root-causes that affect different mothering styles. The dissertation also lays stress on the importance of maternal education as well as the Cross-Culture Study. It is divided into six parts.The first part is the introduction about research background, significance and aims of the research as well as study methods. The second part emphasizes uniqueness and non-substitutability of mothers' influence on children's development by the supported theories namely Attachment Theory and Social Learning Theory. Children are the hope of a nation. Meanwhile, as the first teacher of children, mothers play a very important role in children's development. The third part describes the different characteristics between Chinese and American mothers in the way of mothering and notices how they influence their children in the two cultural contexts. The fourth part is the key of this thesis. Firstly, the author gives an introduction of Hofstede's Cultural Value Theory. Secondly, it makes a comparative study of cultural value orientations that are commonly preferred respectively in China and America by presenting ideas that draw heavily on the work of Hofstede and his theory of Cultural Value. Finally, it reveals Chinese Collectivism and American Individualism are the root-causes that affect mothering styles. The fifth part is about the enlightenment and limitations of the study. It emphasizes the importance of maternal education and developing cultural mutual understanding. The sixth part is the conclusion of the dissertation. It appeals to the public to notice mothers' important role.