An exploratory look at Taiwanese preschool children's compliant and noncompliant behaviors, how teachers responded to the behaviors, and the activity settings in which they occurred is offered in this paper. Observations were made in 10 different preschool centers in the city of Taipei; 5 were laboratory schools and 5 were private centers. A total of approximately 2 hours was spent observing at each. Through the use of the narrative-description method, examples of the most common forms of compliance, as well as specific anecdotal notes of each observed incidence of noncompliance, were recorded. In most cases, children were positively engaged as a group in simultaneously performing the same activity; thus, any noncompliant behavior was very noticeable. Observations (conducted in activities settings involving large-group instruction or stories, music and movement, art, transition time, and snack and lunch time) revealed that noncompliance occurred very infrequently. Compliant behavior was found to be typically cheerful, relaxed, and matter of fact. Factors that might account for the observed behaviors are discussed; these include teaching style, the nature of teachers' verbal behavior, the daily schedule of Taiwanese preschools, the relationships between closed- or open-structure activity settings, and the stringency of teachers' requirements for uniformity in children's behavior. (RH)