Sense of Self: A Comparative Study Between American and Chinese College Students

• In Event: 29.090 - Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: 29.090-23 - Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Education in the 21st Century

Abstract

The biggest difference between the eastern and western philosophies is the sense of self. In western philosophy, self is highly emphasized through individualism such as freedom, independence, autonomy, and creativity. In contrast, eastern philosophy emphasizes more on the collectivism such as harmony, conformity, obedience, passivity, and relationality. The purpose of this study was to compare the eastern and western philosophies and their impact on college students’ sense of self between the Chinese and American college students in the U.S. Findings of this study revealed that a key difference between these two groups’ studying behavior was the sense of self as demonstrated in five areas: motivation, goal, self-regulation, attitudes, and learner role.

Author

• Dengting Boyanton, Shenzhou Tianli Education