Ch. 4 Flashcards
symbolic inheritance
ideas and understandings about people, society, nature, and divinity that serve as a guide to life in a culture
-expressed symbolically through songs, stories, rituals, sacred objects and sacred places
socialization
process by which people acquire behaviors and beliefs of culture they live in
-implicit
3 socialization outcomes
1) self-regulation
-development of a conscience (internal monitor of whether one complies w/ social norms)
2) role preparation
-gender roles, occupations, and institutional roles like marriage and parenthood
3) sources of meaning
-indicate what’s important, valued, and worth living for
individualism (broad)
cultures that encourage individual uniqueness, independence, and self-expression
-allow broad range of individual differences
collectivism (narrow)
value obedience and conformity and discourage deviation from cultural expectations
-allow narrow range of individual differences
eastern cultures
favor collectivism, promoting an interdependent self, with an emphasis on cooperation, mutual support, and group contributions
western cultures
favor individualism, promoting an independent self, placing value on independence, freedoms, and individual achievement
socialization sources
family, friends/peers, community, workplace
-media, legal system, cultural beliefs
-broad v. narrow can be different for each
changing Western beliefs
child-rearing beliefs in American majority culture changed in the last century
-narrow socialization values like obedience and loyalty to the church declined in importance, and broad ones like independence and tolerance became more central to parents’ beliefs
custom complex
consists of customary practice and beliefs, values, sanctions, rules, motivations and satisfactions associated w/ it
what’s unique for adolescents growing up in minority cultures within a different culture?
experience different types of socialization from different sources
adolescent values after immigration
values of first-gen immigrants (born elsewhere and moved) are more similar to adolescents in new country’s majority culture
-values most similar to country they moved away from involved expectations about family functioning
religious changes
adolescents in developed countries are less religious than in developing countries
–Americans are the most religious
-church attendance overreported, most youth don’t have a lot of religious knowledge
-general belief that God watches over us in times of need
–central goals of life to be good, kind, truthful and happy and good people will be rewarded in the afterlife
National Survey of Youth and Religion (NSYR)
85% of Americans 13-17 yrs. believed in God
-65% prayed at least once a week
-52% reported attending church services at least twice a month
declining religiosity in emerging adulthood
adolescents participate in religious rituals and custom
-church, fasting during Ramadan, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs
-decline due to movement away from parental beliefs -> development/exploration of individual affiliations and beliefs
-relying on some kind of religious beliefs was positively associated w/ beneficial outcomes like well-being
–negatively associated w/ risky behavior and symptoms of anxiety
Lawrence Kohlberg’s (1958) moral development
presented adolescents w/ scenarios and had them indicate what’s right/wrong
-explanations of judgements, as opposed to what’s right/wrong, was basis for theory
Kohlberg’s findings
moral reasoning increases w/ age
-moral development proceeded in predictable ways, from one stage to the next
-moral development cumulative and doesn’t regress
-moral development tended to be correlated w/ edu.
Level 1: preconventional reasoning
moral reasoning based on perceptions of likelihood of external rewards and punishments
Stage 1: punishment and obedience orientation
-rules should be obeyed to avoid punishment and those in authority
Stage 2: individualism and purpose orientation
-what’s right is what satisfies one’s own needs and occasionally the needs of others, and what leads to rewards oneself
Level 2: Conventional reasoning
moral reasoning is less egocentric and emphasizes conforming to the moral expectations of others, including rules established by tradition and by authorities
Stage 3: Interpersonal concordance orientation
-care of and loyalty to others emphasized in his stage, and it’s seen as good to conform to what others expect in a certain role
Stage 4: Social systems orientation
-moral judgements are explained to references such as social order, law, and justice
Level 3: postconventional reasoning
moral reasoning at this level is based on the individual’s own judgements rather than what others view as wrong or right
-what’s right is derived from the individual’s perception of objective, universal principles rather than the subjective perception of either the individual (as in Level 1) or the group (Level 2)
Stage 5: Community rights and individual rights orientation
-society’s laws and rules can be questioned and changed if they become obstacles to ideals such as freedom and justice
Stage 6: Universal ethical principles orientation
-basis of moral reasoning is an independent moral code on universal principles
-laws or social conventions conflict with these principles, it’s seen as better to violate the laws or conventions than the universal principles
Kohlberg critiques
didn’t deny cultural influences on moral reasoning, but saw it as a cognitive process
-saw culture’s contribution as a factor in whether adolescents were exposed to opportunities to reach the highest level of reasoning
-criticized by recent cultural scholars who note his levels are based on his own values
-highest level of moral reasoning isn’t the only valid moral code
-values based on models of individualistic thinking promoted by the western educational and social elite
worldview
what it means to be a good human, dictates what’s right and wrong (moral reasoning) as moral evaluation
-reasoning prescribed how people should behave (moral behavior)
Jensen’s 3 types of ethics
1) autonomy
-defines individual as primary moral authority
-individuals are viewed as having the right to do so as they wish as long as their behavior does no direct harm to others
2) community
-defines individuals as members of social groups to which they have commitments and obligations
-responsibilities of roles in family, community and other groups are basis of one’s moral judgements
3) divinity
-defines individual as a spiritual entity, subject to prescriptions of divine authority
-ethic includes moral views based on traditional religious authorities and religious texts
