LOCUS OF CONTROL AND GENDER-ROLES - A COMPARISON OF TAIWANESE AND AMERICAN STUDENTS

Modernization is not Westernization. it is a process where people work toward improvement of their livelihoods. From this viewpoint, all cou ntries are going through the process of modernization, but at differen t stages. Psychological characteristics, such as a stronger internal c ontrol attitude and a more equalized gender-role attitude, have been f ound to be associated with higher levels of modernization. These relat ionships were tested through cross-cultural comparison between the U.S . and Taiwan, and cross-time comparisons between 1977 and 1992 within each country. Datafrom the same two universities were obtained in 1977 and 1992(Taiwan, 517 and 396 Chinese subjects; U.S., 423 and 269 Cauc asian subjects). Results partially supported the modernization hypothe ses on both locus of control and gender-role attitudes. Specific cultu ral and timing explanations were offered The suggestion that locus of control may have different meanings in the two cultures and that diffe rent aspects of the locus of control may influence different spheres o f behavior in different cultures were also discussed. Alternative expl anations for our data and directions for future research were also sug gested.