Idol Worship in Chinese Society A Psychological Approach

This book introduces psychosocial studies of idol worship in Chinese societies. It reviews how idol worship is perceived in Chinese culture, history, and philosophy as well as how it differs from the concept of celebrity worship that is more dominant in Western literature. Using a pioneering hexagonal model of idol worship, this book explains how idol worship is affected by various demographic and dispositional variables as well as the cognitive and social functions of idols and idol worship. Finally, it discusses idol worship from a contemporary Chinese perspective, including emotional, interpersonal, and social learning aspects, and ends with a discussion of moral development perspective.

GlossaryPreface 1. Idol Worship and Related Concepts 2. Theories and Perspectives of Idol Worship 3. Comparing and Verifying Absorption- Addiction Idolatry and Identification - Emulation Idolatry 4. Idol Worship and Personality Factors 5. Religiosity, Self-identity, and Idol Worship 6. Idolatry, Self-efficacy, Attachment, and Intimacy Index

Xiaodong Yue ???is assistant dean, School of Graduate Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and associate professor, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences atCity University of Hong Kong.He earned his BA degree in English language and literature at Beijing Second Foreign Languages Institute in 1982, his MA degree in education from Tufts University in 1987, and his EdD degree in psychology from Harvard University in 1993. He has taught psychology courses at the Department of Educational Psychology of Chinese University of Hong Kong (1993–1996) and at the Department of Applied Social Sciences of City University of Hong Kong (since 1997). He has published widely on issues of creativity, humor, resilience, and adolescent idol worship in Chinese society. He is an adjunct professor of over 20 universities in China as well as an ad hoc reviewer often international journals of psychology and education around the world. He is also the founding chair of the Division of Counseling Psychology of Hong Kong Psychological Society. He has been invited to give keynote addresses at various conferences in China and around world. (Contact him at ssxdyue@cityu.edu.hk) Chau-kiu Cheung is associate professor, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at City University of Hong Kong. He has recently published on the topics of emerging adulthood, child abuse, resilience, character education, moral development, peer influence, and class mobility. His current research addresses issues of idolatry, violence, distress, career, and prosociality. (Contact him at ssjacky@cityu.edu.hk)