Kobe University Professor Kazuo Nishimura conducted a survey of 15,949 men and women over the age of 19 this year to discover if they remember being told certain moral lessons, such as “do not tell a lie”” by their parents. It did not matter if they did as they were taught, just that they remember being taught these things. The survey also asked about their annual incomes.
The
findings of the survey indicate that those who clearly remember being told not
to lie earned an average of 4.49 million yen a year (about $45,000 in USD),
while those who do not remember, earn about 3.99 million yen (about $40,000
USD). Other moralisms such as “obey the
rules”, “be kind to others”, and “study hard” had similar results but to a
lesser extent (earning from 150,000 to 290,000 more per year).
Other
survey results include that those remembering being told “say thank you” or “listen to
your parents” didn’t earn any more than the average; and those remembering being
told to “say hello to people you meet” are making about 130,000 yen less! Interesting study, no? What do you
remember your parents telling you?
2 comments:
That's really interesting. Our whole family remembers my Mother's favourite adage "it's good fro your character". We bring it up each time we get together and have a laugh over it all. I don't know about it affecting our annual income but it has affected each of us individually!
Like Margaret I find this very interesting. The only thing I can remember from my Swedish upbringing was 'take responsibility for your actions', 'neglect your muffler, catch a cold and you will be stuck at home while the others go out to enjoy themselves'. I guess my mother wanted me to think about WHY I should obey rules or study hard.
Here in Japan, some of the first Japanese expressions I heard were those you mentioned above, told to children. As you must have noticed, in Japan it is important to behave like others in your 'group' (girls hitch up their school uniform skirts, old people dress in grey clothes and play 'gate ball'...). Being trained at home, in school and by society is very important. Higher income usually means higher education, a longer way to climb on the career ladder, and better manners are vital to reach that goal.
There are posters outside the local elementary school urging students to 'greet each other cheerfully'.
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