INTOLERANCE OF HUMAN DIFFERENCES - A CROSS-CULTURAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL-STUDY OF AMERICAN, JAPANESE, AND CHINESE CHILDREN

This study investigated intolerance of human differences among fifth-, eighth-, and eleventh-graders in the United States (N = 266), Japan ( N = 408), and the People's Republic of China (N = 232). Intolerance wa s measured by children's reactions to nontypical peers. Students were administered a self-explanatory questionnaire, presenting brief scenar ios describing the following six types of nontypical children: aggress ive, mean (cruel), withdrawn, learning disabled, unathletic, and poor. For each nontypical child, students were asked how much they would wa nt to be friends with that child, how they would feel working closely with the child on a class project, and how similar or dissimilar they were to the child. Children's intolerant reactions varied by culture d epending on the nature of the specific situation with which they were confronted. Overall, fifth-and eighth-graders were more intolerant of nontypical children than eleventh-graders. Various theories that might explain cross-cultural and developmental differences in the expressio n of intolerance are discussed.