The Resistance to Temptation

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Abstract
Using children from American and Asian-Indian populations, I assessed the hypothesis that exposure to conforming or deviant models in a resistance to temptation situation would have significantly less deviating effect on Indian subjects. The rationale employed was that certain cultures provide an early impetus for self-discipline. Subjects were given an immediate resistance to deviation test with a forbidden toy. As hypothesized, exposure to a deviant model resulted in significantly greater deviation in latency, frequency, and duration of deviation among the American subjects, and exposure to a resisting model decreased frequency and duration of deviation in the Indian subjects. There was no significant difference between the samples in subjects' recollection of experimenter's instructions. The findings were discussed in terms of the differing influence of adult authority and peer interactions in the two cultures.