Cognitive Socialization in Confucian Heritage Cultures

This chapter investigates the nature of cognitive biases, particularly cognitive conservatism, in the context of Confucian heritage cultures. The influence of Confucianism on cognitive socialization may be conceived in two ways. The first concerns the usual interest in the child's learning experiences; the second concerns the representation of reality transmitted to, and subsequently experienced and internalized by, the child. For instance, a perusal of the 1990 Child Development special issue on minority children reveals that the Asian literature was rarely consulted. The significance of the evidence described is that it establishes a linkage between external cultural knowledge and internal individual cognition: Cognitive conservatism operating within the individual mirrors the Confucian conservatism governing human relationships, as well as educational and sociopolitical institutions. The former is more fundamental than the latter: Impulse control is an imperative requirement for meeting the demands of social control regardless of one's level of academic achievement.