Enculturation Flashcards
Constant across cultures:
people wish to become competent, productive adults.
Different across cultures:
meaning of “competent” and “productive”.
Socialisation
process by which we learn and internalise rules patterns of society.
Enculturation
process of learning and adopting ways and manners of their culture.
Socialisation and enculturation agents
People, institutions, and organisations that ensure socialisation and enculturation occurs.
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory
Studying children in relation to their particular contexts is key to understanding development.
Children contribute to their own development by interacting with and influencing people around them.
By observing parents we are observing…
Essence of a culture.
How cultural rules and values are reinforced and passed on from generation to generation.
Study of parenting within cultural context tells us what is important to that culture.
Whiting and Whitings’ 6 Cultures Study
Collected field data in Mexico, India, Kenya, USA, Okinawa, and Philippines.
Major focus: examine child rearing and children’s behaviour in varied cultural contexts.
Findings
Child’s behaviour and personality is intimately connected to characteristics of broader ecology.
Women’s work roles contribute to children’s social behaviours.
Parental Ethnotheories
Parental culture belief systems
Motivate and shape what parents think is “right” way to parent.
Parenting styles
Authoritarian
Permissive
Authoritative
Uninvolved
Authoritarian parents
expect unquestioned obedience; child needs to be controlled.
Permissive parents
warm and nurturing; allow children to regulate own lives with few guidelines.
Authoritative parents
sensitive to child’s maturity; firm, fair, reasonable and affectionate.
Uninvolved parents
do not respond appropriately to children; indifferent.
Studies using HOME Inventory describe 3 general areas in which cultures vary:
Warmth & Responsiveness
Discipline
Stimulation/teaching
How do siblings play an important role for children?
Siblings play important role in socialisation of children.
Siblings can fulfil many roles: tutors, buddies, playmates, caretakers.
Skills important to culture are learned from siblings: perspective-taking, social understanding, conflict negotiation.
Repeated and prolonged interaction means older siblings can be influential role model to younger siblings.
Extended families
members other than parents and children (aunt, uncles, cousins, and grandparents).
Multigenerational families
grandparents in addition to parents and children or just children.
How is extended/multigenerational family child rearing integral part of enculturation process?
Extended and multigenerational families have in common the sharing of resources, emotional support, and caregiving.
Postfigurative cultures:
Socialisation occurs primarily by elders transferring their knowledge.
Culture change is slow.
Configurative cultures:
Adults socialise their children, but peers play a greater role in socialising each other.
Culture change is quicker.
Prefigurative cultures:
Culture is changing so rapidly that young people may be the ones to teach adults.
Culture change is rapid.
