PERSONAL STORYTELLING AS A MEDIUM OF SOCIALIZATION IN CHINESE AND AMERICAN FAMILIES

The goal of this study was to determine how personal storytelling func tions as a socializing practice within the family context in middle-da ss Taiwanese and middle-class European American families. The data con sist of more than 200 naturally occurring stories in which the past ex periences of the focal child, aged 2,6, were narrated. These stories w ere analyzed at 3 levels: content, function, and structure. Findings c onverged across these analytic levels, indicating that personal storyt elling served overlapping yet distinct socializing functions in the 2 cultural cases. In keeping with the high value placed on didactic narr ative within the Confucian tradition, Chinese families were more likel y to use personal storytelling to convey moral and social standards. E uropean American families did not treat stories of young children's pa st experiences as a didactic resource but instead employed stories as a medium of entertainment and affirmation. These findings suggest not only that personal storytelling operates as a routine socializing prac tice in widely different cultures but also that it is already function ally differentiated by 2,6.