Do Japanese children say ‘yes’ to their mothers? A naturalistic study of response bias in parent- toddler conversations Mako Okanda (Kyoto University) Shoji Itakura (Kyoto University) photocred:erichedelic 1

2 Introduction Understanding children’s responses Is there a response bias? Is there a yes bias? Findings are inconsistent. Because variables are not controlled. ‘I don’t know’ and ‘no answer’ responses

1.Do (Japanese) children show a yes bias in response to yes-no questions to their mothers in daily situations (versus an experimental situation)? 2.Do Japanese children give the ‘no answer’ or ‘I don’t know’ responses to their own mothers? 3 Research Questions

4 38 Japanese children: 20 two-year-olds (10 boys, 10 girls) 18 three-year-olds (12 boys, 6 girls) Participants

5 SettingAge Cultural background Type of questions Familiarity Kinds of entities Variables of this study Non-experimental 2-3 years old Japanese “Is this ___?” 3 fam. v.s. 3 unfam. Actual objects

6 The mothers received an instruction paper, the objects, an answer sheet, an example answer sheet, an envelope, and a consent document. The mothers conducted the experiment when at home alone with her children. The mothers asked 4 questions for each subject. The order of question is printed on the answer sheet. Either (fam —> unfam —> fam —> unfam —> fam —> unfam) or (unfam —> fam —> unfam —> fam —> unfam —> fam) The mothers recorded the answers (verbal and nonverbal), then sent the data back to the researchers. Procedure

7

8

9 Questions that “yes” is the right answer: “Yes” response = +1 “No” response = -1 Scoring Questions that “no” is the right answer: “No” response = +1 “Yes” response = -1 Yes-scoreNo-score

10 Scoring Yes-scoreNo-score total numbers of questions that “yes” is the right answer total numbers of questions that “no” is the right answer proportional yes-score proportional no-score

11 Scoring proportional yes-score proportional no-score - = Response bias score (-1~+1)

12

13 A yes bias was shown among 2- to 3-year-old Japanese children to their mothers (3-year-old’s bias is less than 2- year-old’s). Taken this data with previous studies done in an experimental setting (Okanda & Itakura), it suggests that Japanese children aging from 2 to 3 show a strong yes bias regardless of the interviewer. Fritzley & Lee obtained similar findings with north American children in Discussion concerning yes/no

14 A yes bias is a rather common phenomenon, not restricted to specific contexts or cultures, indicating a broader cognitive response bias. Affirmation could be a dominant response that children do not/cannot inhibit. Conclusion concerning yes/no

15 Discussion concerning idk

16

17 ‘No answer' and ‘I don’t know’ responses are given to their own mothers, as well as to strangers in the Japanese culture. According to previous studies, Western children are more reluctant to give the ‘I don’t know’ response. Discussion concerning idk

18 Reason = Cultural norm? Western cultures emphasize self-confidence and self-esteem. Japanese (& Chinese) culture emphasizes modesty. Conclusion concerning idk

19 In conclusion… Thank you…