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Jill Leston

Judy Hampel

English 1001

Jan. 31, 2017

In the article My Memory, Myself: The Role of Culture in Memory and Self-Identity,

Claire Ulrich introduces us to a groundbreaking research study and the doctor responsible for

that study. Dr. Qi Wang has conducted, along with her colleagues, a revealing study showing

how children and their development of social and cognitive skills, are greatly affected by the

concept of the self within their own culture. Wang asked questions and had discussions with

children from two different cultures comparing one culture to the other, proving her theory of

self and culture having significant impacts on the development of children. Ulrich uses logos and

ethos in the article to effectively convey the effect of culture on childrens memory and

development.

During the 2004 study by Wang and her interviewers, European American and Chinese

children were asked open-ended questions about themselves. Both groups of children were

between the ages of four and eight, and all came from middle class families. When asked to

describe themselves and recall events from their past, European American children were much

more detailed and emotional, whereas the Chinese children were less detailed, less emotional,

and tended to focus on social interactions and referred to relationships with others, while

European American children focused more on themselves, their roles, and their actions. Not

surprisingly enough, another study conducted by Wang in 2002 showed how much mothers play

a role in their childrens memories and views of themselves. While European American mothers

encouraged children to talk and discuss events, bringing out details of past occurrences, Chinese
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mothers focused more on information, leaving out room for details. Chinese mothers focus more

on themselves and others that were involved with their childrens memories, while European

American mothers focus on their own childs role.

Ulrich uses ethos in her article to build credibility and trust by citing credible sources.

Ulrich references the work of Qi Wang, an Assistant Professor of Human Development. As

someone who holds this title it conveys to us that Wang is a credible source. Ulrich mentions

that Wang found in many East Asian cultures, including Chinese, that people often identify

themselves as part of a group or in relation to other people. (4) Being Chinese herself, Dr. Wang

is very familiar with this way of thinking of ones self. Dr. Wangs research is being made more

credible due to her own background and understanding of the Chinese culture. By referencing

the work of a credible researcher, who has personal knowledge and experience with Chinese

Culture, Ulrich helps to build credibility and trust with the reader.

Another way Ulrich connects with her readers and proves her thesis, is through the use of

logos. She clearly begins the article by introducing Dr. Wang, and the research that Wang is

conducting to prove her thesis of culture influencing the development of children. Ulrich then

moves on to the actual work performed by Wang and her interviewers, and compares the two sets

of data collected from the two different groups of children to prove the thesis of Wang correct.

Also mentioned in the article is another study (2) conducted by Wang previously in 2002, where

she interviewed mothers instead of children. After looking at the data collected from both

studies, Wang further concluded that culture, and these childrens mothers, greatly influence the

childrens own self-identify and development. By structuring the article in a way that we can

follow the study of Wang, a comparison of that study to another, and then the outcome of that
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study, we as the reader are reassured with logic, proof, and reason that the article is trustworthy

and factual and proves the original thesis.

While both ethos and logos are used very efficiently by Ulrich, pathos was not a strategy

used to connect with the reader. Ulrichs reasoning for not utilizing pathos is most likely that she

believes for this kind of article it was best to focus upon credibility, logic, and proof rather than

going too far into smaller details. Wang and her colleagues were told stories by the children

interviewed, but we as the readers of Ulrichs article were not. We are told the most basic

differences between the two groups of children, but still enough information to understand the

authors thesis and reasoning. Ulrich tells us Wang explains the American childrens accounts of

remembered events were longer, more detailed, and more emotionalthey tended to focus on

themselves. (2004, Dr. Qi Wang) Chinese children on the other hand provided less detailed

and less emotional accounts of past experiences than their American peers, and their accounts

often focused on daily routines. (2004, Dr. Qi Wang) Instead of focusing on their own roles or

predilections, they focused more on social interactions and often referred to their relationships to

others. Without the use of pathos Claire Ulrich still presents a well, thoroughly thought out, and

effective article.

With the excellent utilization of ethos and logos, Ulrich provides an effective and

trustworthy article. We can now agree that culture has a tremendous effect on children and their

development, with the information that Ulrich has given us in the article. With the use of ethos,

Ulrich assures us that the information presented is credible by introducing us to the doctor

responsible for obtaining that information. Ulrich telling us about the information acquired from

the study performed by the doctor, is a great use of logos. With the terrific use of logos and

ethos, pathos is not used as a device to appeal to the readers of this article. Even without the use
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of pathos in article, Ulrich uses logos and pathos, to efficiently show us culture has a great

impact on childrens memory and development.

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Work Cited

Ulrich, Claire. My Memory, Myself: The Role of Culture in Memory and Self-Identity. Human

Ecology, June 2004, 32, 1. Research Library Pg. 2.