CULTURE AND COMPLIANCE GAINING IN THE CLASSROOM - A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF CHINESE COLLEGE-TEACHERS USE OF BEHAVIOR ALTERATION TECHNIQUES

This study examined the rise of behavior alteration techniques (BATs) to gain student compliance in the Chinese context. Chinese college tea chers reported using most of the BATs that college teachers from the U nited States (U.S.) have been found to use; Chinese teachers use many BATs even more frequently. However, Chinese teachers communicate behav ior alteration messages (BAMs) that differ from those used by their U. S. counterparts. While previous research with U.S. teachers shows a pr eference for reward-based, prosocial BATs, Chinese teachers said they were more likely to use punishment-oriented, antisocial BATs. Finally, analysis of interview data revealed that Chinese teachers' use of BAT s and BAMs emphasized authority morality and modeling. These themes ar e consistent with larger themes in Chinese culture and help to make se nse of cultural variation in instructional communication behaviors.