Gorer describes several common cultural characteristics of peace-loving societies (Inuits, Pygmies, and the Zuni). They tend to
Bandura: Parents who encourage, approve of, and reward aggressive behaviour bring up children who exhibit more aggressive behavior. This is also observed in other cultures. Yanomano.
William Lambert: Studied the level to which parents would punish aggressive behaviour by their children directed at either other children or the child's mother. (Kenya, India, Mexico, Japan, Philippines, USA). The Mexican parents were the most punitive for aggression against other children, while the American parents stand out as particularly tolerant. Lambert suggests that the differences are due to the presence or absence of close relatives in the child's play group and the level of interdependence of the extended family that leads to greater adult control over childhood control.
Ruth and Robert Munroe: Societies with extended family households not only had the highest level of parental punishment of aggression, but they also had the highest level of childhood aggression. Thus, the extended family not only treats aggression harshly, but also breeds it.
Segall proposes a biocultural interaction model proposing that male biological predisposition to aggression interact with cultural mechanisms to produce the consistent sex differences in aggressive behaviour.
Research shows that aggressive crimes such as assault, rape, and murder are more apt to occur in societies where fathers are not active participants in child rearing and where early mother-son bonds are very strong. (Bacon)
John and Beatrice Whiting: reported data on nurturing and helping behaviour by children aged 3 — 11 in six countries. They found considerable difference in the level of altruism displayed by children from these countries. Kenyan, Mexican, and Filipino children scored high, whereas US children scored the lowest. Cross-cultural differences in prosocial behaviour are correlated with the children's involvement in the responsibilities of family life. Altruism was least likely in communities where the children completed school and were seldom assigned responsibilities for family farming or household chores.
Graves and Graves — indicated that caring for younger children provides a child with considerable opportunity to learn to behave in a prosocial manner.
We tend to provide more help to those whom we perceive to be similar to ourselves than those who appear to be unlike us. Katz found that people help members of their own rather than another racial group. (1981)
Michael Bond and Kwok Leung (1988) found that while Chinese and Japanese subjects offered more help than did American subjects to others whom they perceived to be from an in-group, they were less likely than Americana to help others perceived to be from an out-group.
The most important factor in determining the response to aid appears to be the characteristics of the donor. Kenneth and Mary Gergen found a correlation between the perceived attractiveness of the donor nation and the appreciation/acceptance of the aid. The wealth of the donor nation was negatively correlated with appreciation and liking of the donor.
There is some evidence that people appreciate assistance more when there is an opportunity or even an obligation to reciprocate. (Castro)
It may be the inability of recipient nations to return the favor that, in part, explains the anti-American sentiment in nations that are now receiving or have received aid from the US. Aid that is given in a manner that implied incompetence or a lack of capability on the part of the recipient can have negative effects on the recipient's self-esteem. (Morse)