SL - Cultural influences on individual attitudes, identity and behaviours - enculturation

Question 1

Enculturation

Answer 1

The process by which individuals learn the necessary and appropriate social skills and norms in the context of their culture

Question 2

Wang (2001)

Answer 2

Aim->
To investigate whether the emotional content of mother-child conversations would be different for American and Chinese participants.

Method ->
22 white American mothers and 25 Chinese mothers, with their three-year-old children, participated in this correlational study. The mothers were asked to record conversations with their children relating to four different events, each relating to a different emotion: happy, sad, scared or angry. The conversations were then analysed.

Results
American mothers offered significantly more explanations than Chinese mothers for the emotions felt by their child and by others when discussing events with their children. American children showed the same pattern.
American mothers and their children were significantly more likely to choose personally-focused events to discuss, while Chinese mothers and their children were more likely to talk about social themes.
American mothers elaborated (gave more details about the events being discussed) significantly more than the Chinese mothers.
Chinese mothers focused more on social rules than American mothers (who focused more on their child’s experience and feelings).
American children talked less about others than the Chinese children, and more about themselves.

Conclusion
“Findings indicate that [parent-child conversations about shared emotional experiences] serve culture-specific functions in transmitting to children knowledge about emotions and ways of personal reminiscing.”
“While American children are encouraged to focus on their own feelings, Chinese children are often encouraged to be attuned to those of others.”
“American conversations focused on the opinions of the child, whereas Chinese conversations often referred to other people and emphasised social norms and behavioural expectations.”
“For American mothers, emotions constitute an important aspect of the child’s self and therefore need to be explained and elaborated on fully in order to facilitate the child’s emotion understanding and individuality. For Chinese mothers, in contrast, emotions are consequences of social interactions between the child and significant others and therefore are instrumental for reinforcing in the child proper behavioural conduct and a sense of connectedness.”