Week 2 Flashcards
Bentacourt and Lopez
Research in culture and ethnicity segregated from mainstream psych
Also little depth in examining these issues
Why is this a problem?
Packages/status variables
Age, social class, gender, ethnicity, etc., used as if IVs
Question- why does living your life as a female create more X as opposed to being a male
Cultural deficit model
When one group is assigned as the “lesser” group
Culture
No clearly agreed upon definition
Most define it as a set of learned behaviors and shared meaning by a group of people and are passed across generations
-> resistant to change because of meaning systems and belief systems
Variable across groups
Has objective and subjective elements
-subjective- almost become a part of who we are “that’s just the way it is done”
Ethnicity
Usually defined by nationality, language, or ancestry
Deeper study if individual and group experience rarely occur
Race
Usually defined by physical characteristics
Highly criticized by scientists, UN and others
In reality: more within-group and between-group differences
Not an internal psychological characteristic!
Socioeconomic status (SES)
Often confounded with culture, ethnicity, and race
Important to tease out
In some cases it may be meaningful to include
Suggestions
Go beyond group label and discover experiences of people in the groups
Learn about individual differences within these groups
->naturally find common ground and differences during interactions
Increase sensitivity in situations of cultural change (e.g., acculturation process)
Limitations to definitions
Little study of experiences that make up these terms
Ignores their complexity
These problems occur in cross-cultural and cross-ethnic research
Limitations to definitions matter because
Leads to difficulties in understanding:
What each of these features of human experiences are
How society interprets and acts in relation to them
Fuels deficit models
Ask about- measures (usually societal)
Fass- history of rights of the child
Late 1880s- reforms to protect children
- immigrants needed jobs, no more child work
- -> public education (citizenship training)
- –> notion to protect children became important (child welfare and well-being)
Three forces that emerged from child rights
Non governmental organization (NGOs) Role of Sweden -neutral in war -created goodwill efforts for children -helped UN create UNICEF -holds the most progressive view of children in world Role of women -rosie the riveter -entered workforce ->express concerns about child experiences when away from them (at work)
Child rights today
Child victimization is still very high around the world
Globalization makes this more vivid
Child seen in complex ways (child soldiers)
-> in real-world, experience the good and the bad
How lives of children changed over time
Pre WWII
- increase in no farm work by fathers (move to cities)
- smaller family size
- increases educational attainment (mothers who went to school)
Post WWII
- more women in labor force
- more single-parent families
- fluctuation in child poverty
- > reflects economics of country
Today
Wide age range and educational range of parents
-> college edu, first child early 40s
Children live in diverse ethnic groups, with many immigrant household
-> culturalized and socialized in schooling
-> some have home lives that differ from school
much residential mobility
-> 20% household move every year
-> unstable for children
Many family types (extended, blended, non-kin)
-> more and more people involved in child rearing
-> disruptive to child and can lead to conflict in adults
Wide range of parent labor force participation
-> lead to increase use of childcare, parents juggling schedules, etc.
-> social organization of time spent with children
Increase income gap
-> children most impoverished group in America (30%)
Summary: to understand children, understand parents
Socialization
Biology is natural
Humans are social organisms
Survival depends on social skills
Social sills acquired socially
Hence, socialization is a natural process of the species (and a product of culture)
-> ergo: no nature/nurture debate, out nature IS to nurture
