Culture and Child Development

Question 1

Why is it important to study how children develop across different cultures?

Answer 1

Informs general developmental psychology

Universal milestones

Culture specific developmental pathways

Focus on Western cultures

Question 2

Socialisation:

Answer 2

How we learn about and take on the rules, values and behaviours of a particular culture

Question 3

Benefits of socialisation

Answer 3

Behaviour

Personal growth

To enable success as an adult

Question 4

Child development and socialisation will depend on:

Answer 4

People the child interacts with
Places where they spend their time
Roles children play
(Whiting & Whiting, 1975)

Question 5

Ecological Model of Child Development (Bronfenbrenner, 1977)

what is the study?

Answer 5

How children develop and learn ways of their culture

Question 6

Ecological Model of Child Development

Five interacting systems…

Answer 6

Microsystem: immediate surroundings
Mesosystem: links between microsystems
Exosystem: indirect influences on child
Macrosystem: cultural environment
Chronosystem: influence of time

Question 7

Developmental niche (Super & Harkness, 1986)
what is the study?

Answer 7

How culture shapes development…

Question 8

Developmental niche

Three interacting subsystems:

Answer 8

1. Physical and social settings
E.g., people, economy
2. Cultural practices of child-rearing
E.g., customs and norms
3. Psychology of the parents/caregivers
E.g., parental ethno theories

Question 9

Influences on parenting practices
The Six Cultures Study (Whiting & Whiting,1975)
what is the study?

Answer 9

Field data collected from: Kenya, Mexico, India, USA, Philippines & Okinawa
Natural environment shaped child-rearing practices
Hunter gathers vs urban dwellers
Women’s work roles
Difference in children’s prosocial behaviours

Question 10

Influences on parenting (cont.)

Answer 10

Economic condition
Mortality rate 
Family life
Cultural norms
Parental beliefs and expectations

Question 11

Cultural orientation, two types…

Answer 11

Individualistic
Needs of individual over needs of group
Independent and autonomous
E.g., USA, Germany, Australia.

Collectivistic
Needs and goals of group more important than needs and wishes of individual.
Interdependent view of self
E.g., Japan, China, India

Question 12

US and Japanese mothers rated desirable and undesirable behaviours among children
(Olson et al., 2001)
what are they?

Answer 12

Desirable:
Both social cooperativeness and interpersonal sensitivity

Undesirable:
US: aggression and disruptive behaviours
Japanese: social insensitivity and uncooperativeness

Question 13

“Developmental timetables”

Answer 13

Expectations of mastering specific skills at certain ages

Question 14

Roles of siblings

Answer 14

Caregivers

Tutors – Vygotsky (1932) ‘guided learning’

Playmates

Buddies

Question 15

Collectivist countries -

Answer 15

families geographically and emotionally closer than individualist
(Georgas et al. 1997).

Question 16

Temperament

Answer 16

Pattern of emotional reactivity

Question 17

Temperament can be based on two things…

Answer 17

Biologically based but modifiable

Interaction: heredity and experience

Thomas & Chess (1977): 3 broad groups (9 dimensions)
Easy (40% of infants)
Difficult (10% of infants)
Slow to warm up (15% of infants)

Question 18

“Goodness of fit” means…

Answer 18

Compatibility of temperament and environment
E.g.,
Does the child’s temperament match parental expectations, environment or culture?

Question 19

Cross-cultural research suggests there are…

Answer 19

group differences in infant temperament.

Chinese American babies reported as calmer & more placid than European American or African American babies (Freedman,1974).

Russian infants reported to display lower positive affect manifestations and higher negative emotionality than US infants (Garstein et al., 2003)

Question 20

why might temperament differences occur?

Answer 20

Interplay of factors:
-Specific environmental demands
-Physiological aspects of the mother
Temperamental attributes valued in culture

Types of temperament can be adaptive or maladaptive depending on culture.
-Interpretation

Question 21

Influences on temperament

Answer 21

Environment continued…
Altitude
Poverty

Mothers’ physiology
Diet
Mother’s blood pressure

Question 22

Implications of differences in temperament

Answer 22

Respond to the environment differently.

Evoke different responses from caregivers & environment.

Fundamental differences in learning and social experiences of those children

Question 23

Three main attachment styles:

Answer 23

Secure
Resistant/ambivalent
Avoidant

Question 24

Attachment classifications may vary depending on…

Answer 24

culture.
(More German infants display avoidant attachment patterns than American.
Japanese infants display characteristics of ambivalent attachments)

Role of cultural parenting practices
(German parents encourage independence.
Japanese infants rarely left in care of others.
Security of attachment?)

Assumption of Mother-Infant dyad.
(What about dad?
Other relatives?
Cultural differences in child-rearing)

Environmental influences
(Occupation
Climate)

Cultural differences in socialisation goals
(Western – self-regulation and autonomy
Non-western – social interdependencies
Bornstien (1994, 2010).)

Attachment between infants and caregivers universal.

Question 25

Certain temperamental attributes are more desirable in some ………… than others

Answer 25

cultures