PANEL ORGAN - KIIT University

This paper explores the intersection of the cultural practice labeled “chores” and the
psychological trait labeled “responsibility.” The crux of the analysis arises from the sharp
contrast between children maturing in traditional societies and routinely participating in
household tasks from an early age leading to the adoption of a responsible mien versus
children in the contemporary elite society eschewing all involvement in household care
and maintenance and, consequently, developing little sense of responsibility. Recent
discussions regarding “failure to lunch” or delayed maturity in this culture suggests the
long-term impact of this phenomenon.
TAKADA, Akira, Kyoto University, Japan. E-mail:
Responsibility in Giving and Taking Activity
As part of more encompassing efforts to develop an empirically grounded theory on the
cultural formation of responsibility, this paper examines how young Japanese children and
their caregivers mold their interactions in relation to directives, defined as “an utterance
intended to get the listener to do something” (Goodwin 2006). We collected data about
caregiver-child interactions and classified caregiver directives and child responses into
several categories. Our analyses revealed that when a child resists a caregiver’s directive,
the caregiver can effectively use “reported speech” and thereby indirectly communicate
her regulation of the child’s behavior. This provides a context in which actions fit for the
culturally shared values, such as Omoiyari (sensitivity to others’ feelings and desires), are
put into practice. These strategies form the distinctive types of communicative
competence in Japanese caregiver-child interactions and are also induced by the
structural requirements of conversational settings, which rest primarily on universal
elements.
WATERSON, Roxana Helen, Nat’l Univ. Singapore, E-mail:
Toraja Children’s Perceptions of Ceremonial Life and its Responsibilities
We investigate maternal conceptions concerning the development of responsibility in
Cameroonian Nso mothers. We conducted interviews with Nso mothers, focusing on the
daily responsibilities children are supposed to assume. Our results show that children are
from early on supposed to take individual responsibilities; however, boys and girls are
clearly expected to assume different responsibilities. Our results are confirmed by
ethnographic observations: Nso children are caretakers for younger siblings, they run
errands, fetch wood and help in the household.
PANEL-13(A): THE MAKING OF CULTURAL IDENTITY IN THE CASE OF “UNATTACHED”
CHILDREN
26 th November, 2012 Time: 14.00-16.30hrs Hall No.:
PANEL ORGANIZERS
(1) VIGNATO, Silvia, AnthropologyUniversità di Milano-Bicocca, ITALY, E-mail:
(2) BOLOTTA, Giuseppe, Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca, Social and Cultural
Anthropology, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo, 120126 Milano, ITALY, E-mail: