Value Attitudes toward Role Behavior of Women in Two Japanese Villages

THE recent accumulation of intensive data on Japanese rural culture has revealed many regional differences in Japanese values and attitudes. Scholars concerned with Japanese culture are more aware that they must distinguish between what is broadly characteristic of the society as a whole and what is specific to smaller segments. The full range of variation, however, is still far from clear. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the value of using standardized projective tests, such as the Thematic Apperception Test, in studying intercommunity differences. Specifically, this paper reports results obtained by comparing TAT data from two Japanese communities in what is termed southwestern Japan. One is occupationally concerned with farming, the other with fishing. The over-all results obtained from the two villages are similar in many respects, but they also reveal certain consistent differences in attitudes concerning role behavior in the primary family.