March 12 Flashcards
3 questions of the day
- how do you measure the way in which cultures have been internalized?
- how do immigrants and children of immigrants internalize and integrate their diverse cultures?
- are all cultural guidelines equally easy to internalize?
gazette article about father and his two sons who immigrated from Cameroon - psychologist in the article talks about what?
psychologist in the article talks about a classic mistake:
- young kids/teens often don’t want to do cultural things and want to instead do mainstream things
- most parents let their children leave their heritage culture behind - “you have to be your own person”
- turns out this is a mistake, even though it seems totally sensible
there are RISKS TO MENTAL HEALTH if you leave your heritage culture behind
quote from Gazette: “parents inevitably want to pass on…”
“parents inevitably want to pass on some of the values that shaped their upbringing (eg. politeness, respect)”
“for some immigrant parents trying to do this can be challenging as their children navigate two different cultural universes”
cultural internalization
process by which cultural beliefs and practices are adopted by the individual
and then enacted in the absence of immediate external contingencies or constraints
cultural internalization involves not only taking in cultural beliefs and practices, but also…
enacting them in absence of immediate external contingencies/constraints
^ VOLITIONALLY continuing with the practices
what is very important for cultural internalization?
the way your parents set up guidelines
Deci & Ryan’s theory of internalization
- children are willing and even active participants in the process
- there are different processes by which internalization occurs (introjection and identification/integration)
- these different internalization processes result in qualitatively different styles of self-regulation
- the social context (ie. parenting) influences which internalization process and regulatory style occurs
Deci & Ryan - “children are willing and even active participants in the process”
internalization isn’t something that must be forced on kids
kids are willing and active - they want to learn and participate
young kids care about what their parents/communities care about
(relatedness needs)
kids want to be good at the things happening around them
(competency needs)
this understanding should guide the way that parents parent
different processes by which internalization occurs
- introjection
- identification and integration
introjection (internalization process)
taking in a value or regulatory process
but not accepting it as one’s own
(swallowing your food without chewing it - means it won’t digest well and may leave you feeling defiant)
identification and integration (internalization process)
fully assimilating a regulation with one’s core sense of self
(chewing up your food, thinking about what you’re eating and accepting it)
identification and integration are enabled by…
parental strategies
Downie et al - “the degree to which immigrants fully…”
“the degree to which immigrants fully internalize their host and heritage cultures will importantly relate to their adjustment”
2 factors that make internalization of heritage culture difficult
- if you are tri or quadro-cultural
- if your cultures come into conflict
relative autonomy of cultural internalization question
Q: How much do you pursue specific cultural traditions, practices and values for the following reasons?
scale from:
1. external regulation
2. introjected regulation
3. identified regulation
(ask this for the HERITAGE and HOST culture)
specific example for relative autonomy of cultural internalization question
why did you go to German school?
why did you go to Oktoberfest?
(rate this on scale from external, introjected to identified regulation)
relative autonomy of cultural internalization question - EXTERNAL answer
“my parents and relatives want me to”
relative autonomy of cultural internalization question - INTROJECTED answer
“I would feel ashamed, guilty, or anxious if I did not - I feel I ought to do this”
relative autonomy of cultural internalization question - IDENTIFIED answer
“I really believe it is important to do - I endorse it freely and value it wholeheartedly”
measures of cultural adjustment
- POSITIVE and NEGATIVE AFFECT experienced in heritage and host cultural contexts
- GLOBAL WELLBEING (asked people ow they felt in heritage culture setting vs mainstream settings)
(included both self and peer reports)
measures of cultural adjustment - results
- specific links between INTERNALIZATION of each culture and AFFECT in those cultural settings
^ full internalization of heritage guidelines = better wellbeing in those contexts
(confirmed by self reports and close others reports)
- significant association between BI-CULTURAL INTEGRATION and global WELLBEING
^ balance between heritage and mainstream components is important
why are some immigrants better able to internalize & integrate their multiple cultures?
hypothesis:
PARENTAL AUTONOMY SUPPORT around cultural issues will promote autonomous internalization
what is parental autonomy support?
extent to which your parents consider:
- explaining and providing rationale for why you should be participating in your heritage culture
- increasing information as you age
- giving you a voice and choice in the process
measuring parental autonomy support re: culture
“my mother, whenever possible, allows me to choose how I will participate in my heritage culture
“my father insists upon my doing things like a typical member of my heritage culture”
dating example: measuring parental autonomy support
If I dated an individual who wasn’t a member of my heritage culture my mother/father would…
- FORBID me to date them
- treat them COLDLY and firmly EMPHASIZE the importance of dating someone from our own culture
- express his/her DISAPPOINTMENT WHILE RESPECTING my choice
- be HAPPY that I’m happy
dating example best response
“be happy that I’m happy”
^ this is autonomy supportive, but parents rarely react like this
study 1: immigrants to Montreal
- autonomy support was significantly associated wit autonomous internalization of heritage culture (from mother and father)
- internalization of HERITAGE cultural values was associated with better wellbeing
- internalization of HOST cultural values was significantly associated with better wellbeing
note: results confirmed by peer reports
montreal study 1 found that what predicted autonomous internalization of heritage culture?
AUTONOMY support
coming from mother and father
study 2: Chinese Malaysian Sojourners to US, Canada, UK, Australia
autonomy support was significantly associated wit autonomous internalization of heritage culture
internalization of heritage cultural values was significantly associated with better adjustment for all Ps
what does study 2 demonstrate?
that even though the Chinese Malays were now in Canada
the way they’d internalized their Chinese culture was important, and highly predictive of how well they did in Canada
so we carry our heritage with us even when we leave our old settings
conclusion of Downie studies
experiences of AUTONOMY and CHOICE are critical to the successful adaptation of immigrants because they promote successful cultural internalization and integration
Koestner’s visit from is Austrian cousins
Koestner’s Austrian cousins came to visit the US when e was 20
he was shocked by ow hip they were - they were more hip than Austrian immigrants in NYC
because when you immigrate, you’re held back in time and try to preserve your culture as you left it
holding on to the old ways instead of adapting
are all cultural guidelines equally easy or difficult to internalize?
ie. bride kidnapping in Krygystan
ie. adult circumcision among Kalenjin Kenyan tribe
^ these are violent and unethical practices - they shouldn’t be internalized
cultural relativism
the principle that an individual’s beliefs and activities should be understood by others in terms of that individual’s own culture
follows that you should accept other people’s cultures simply because culture is important and contextual
what disagrees with cultural relativism?
self-determination theory
SDT argues that some cultures don’t provide people with opportunities to feel autonomy, relatedness and competence
in fact, some cultures often frustrate these endeavours
SDT argues that some cultural practices are abhorrent and cannot be integrated because they violate human needs
Chrikov & Ryan (2004): Four Dimensions of Culture
- INDIVIDUALISTIC versus COLLECTIVIST
^ this distinction isn’t very important to this discussion - both can be internalized
- EGALITARIAN versus HIERARCHICAL
^ this is relevant
egalitarian versus hierarchical cultures
EGALITARIAN: believing in the principal that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities
HIERARCHICAL: a system in which people are arranged in order of their importance or rank
hierarchical culture examples
Malaysia, China, India
ie. India’s caste system
if you’re from a hierarchical heritage culture…
that shouldn’t be internalized - this will be bad for your wellbeing and psychological need satisfaction
other key results from the Downie studies
- the content of cultural values do differ across heritage countries
- vertical practices were by far the most difficult to fully integrate
- this is true for bi-cultural and mono-cultural individuals
