This book attempts to shed light on the seemingly contradictory aspects of Japanese behavior. Separate chapters, grounded in interaction-oriented social scientific theory, focus on the themes of social relativism, belongingness, empathy, dependency, occupying the proper place, reciprocity, situational interaction, early socialization, selfhood,…

The use of knife and fork common in Western cultures has influenced Japanese people not only in terms of eating habits but also Japanese personality characteristics. This influence fosters the notion of segmentation - that all areas of life, including people, can be sectioned into parts and so analyzed. Mind and body are considered two discrete…

Summarizes the major forms of cross-cultural research on personality development and discusses their contribution to developmental research. Also discusses some major issues in research on acculturation. (Author/SS)