Culture and DevelopmentalProcesses

Chapter 4

Outline

Culture and Temperament

Culture and AttachmentCognitive DevelopmentMoral ReasoningOther Developmental ProcessesConclusion

CULTURE AND TEMPERAMENT

Traditional Knowledge

Temperament: Biologically based style ofinteracting with world

Easy: regular, adaptable, mildly intense style

Difficult: intense, irregular, withdrawing style

Slow to warm up: need time to make transition

Goodness of fit: interaction of child'stemperament with that of parents

Cross-cultural differences in temperament

• Temperament: Biologically based style ofinteracting with world

Easy: regular, adaptable, mildly intense style

Difficult: intense, irregular, withdrawing style

Slow to warm up: need time to make transition

Goodness of fit: interaction of child'stemperament with that of parents

Cross-Cultural Studies on temperament

• Differences in temperament• Chinese American babies• Japanese and Navajo babies

• Cross-cultural studies using the NeonatalBehavior Assessment Scale• Differences due to cultural practices of

caregiving, cultural goals for appropriatebehavior, cultural ideas on capabilities of babies

Cross-Cultura! Studies on temperament

• Temperament and learning culture• Differences in temperament may reflect cultural

values on appropriate ways of acting and being

• The goodness of fit between temperamentand culture• "Difficult" temperament may be adaptive in one

culture

• Need to interpret infant disposition and behaviorin cultural context

Cross-Cultural Studies on temperament

• Sources behind temperamental differences• Cultural values, environmental demands, cultural

experiences (diet and culture-related practices),physiological aspect of mother

CULTURE AND ATTACHMENT

Attachment: Special bond between infant andcaregiver• Provides child with emotional security

Bowlby's Theory of Attachment

Infants must have preprogrammed, biologicalbasis for becoming attached to caregivers

Attachment is survival strategy

Ainsworth's Classification Systemof Attachment

Ainsworth's study in Uganda

• Three attachment styles: secure, ambivalent,avoidant

Replicated in Baltimore

Similar distribution of attachment styles in othercultures

But, in Dogon of Mali, no avoidant infants; inIsrael.more ambivalent babies

Cross-Cultural Studies on Attachment

Hundreds of studies on attachment conducted incultures all over the world

• Weak association between parent sensitivity andsecurity of attachment

• Cultures differ in conceptualization of sensitiveparenting

Cross-Cultural Validity of AssessingAttachment

Meaning of Strange Situation• Meaning of separation different across different

culturesex) Japanese babies

Avoidant attachment as an indicator ofinsecure attachment• Reliance on nonparental caregivers for Chinese

may account for avoidant attachment behavior• Subtle attachment behaviors difficult for coders

from different cultures

Is secure attachment a universal ideal?

In United States, secure attachment ideal

Some cultures differ in what is considered ideal

Ex) German mothers, Israeli children, Japanesechildren

Nonetheless, many cultures consider secureattachment ideal

Attachment and Child Development

Attachment predicts child competence andhealth

Relationship between temperament andattachment

More research needed in this area

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Piaget's Theory

Cognitive Development: How thinking skillsdevelop over time

Piaget's theory based on observations of Swisschildren• Sensorimotor stage birth to 2 years• Preoperational stage: 2 to 6-7 years

• Conservation, centration, irreversibility,egocentrism, animism

• Concrete operations stage: 6-7 to 11 years• Formal operations stage: 11 years to adulthood

Piaget's Theory

Mechanisms for moving from one stage tonext• Assimilation: fitting new ideas into preexisting

understanding of world• Accommodation: changing one's understanding

of world to accommodate ideas that conflict withexisting concepts

Piaget believed these stages are universal

Piaget's Theory in Cross-Cultural Perspective

• Do Piaget's stages occur in the same orderin different cultures?• Yes

Are the ages that Piaget associated witheach stage of development the same in allcultures?• No, cultural variations exist (but children may

have potential to solve tasks sooner)

Piaget's Theory in Cross-Cultural Perspective

• Are there variations within, rather thanbetween, Piaget's stages?• Yes, cultural variations in order in which acquire

skills within one stage

• Do non-Western cultures regard scientificreasoning as the ultimate developmental endpoint?• No

Ex) Islamic educational systems

Piaget's Theory: Summary and Discussion

• In some cultures, very few complete fourth-stage Piagetian task• Cultural appropriateness of tasks

• Skills being tested

• Role of previous knowledge and cultural values

• Universality of fourth stage has not beendemonstrated

Other Theories of Cognitive Development

• Great divide theory• Separates Westerners from those in primitive

societies

• Non-Westerners' development seen as inferior• Justification of colonial imperialism, ethnocentric

• Non-westerners also have ethnocentricassumptions

MORAL REASONING

Kohlberg's Theory of Morality

Kohlberg's theory of moral development

• Preconventional morality: compliance withrules to avoid punishment and gain rewards

• Conventional morality: conformity to rulesdefined by others' approval or society's rules

• Postconventional morality: moral reasoning onbasis of individual principles and conscience

Cross-Cuitural Studies of Moral Reasoning

• Cross-cultural studies suggest many aspects ofKohlberg's theory of morality are universal• Snarey(1985), Ma (1988)

• Cross-cultural studies also raise questions aboutuniversal generalizability of Kohlberg's higherstages• Cultural biases

• Moral reasoning at higher stages is culture-specific

Cross-Cultural Studies of Moral Reasoning

• Miller• Moralities of community

• Moralities of divinity OTHER DEVELOPMENTALPROCESSES

Developmental research offer insights intocauses and contexts of ontogenesis of culturaldifferences

Cross-cultural developmental research in manyareas such as future-oriented goals andcommitments, social expectations, affective andromantic relationships in adolescence, etc.

Universal:

• Order of stages

Culture-specific:• Age of 3rd and 4th stage

Ex) Children who constantly move were betteraccomplished spatial task sooner thanconservation task whereas children who had tofetch water and store grain, they accomplishedgrain task sooner

Culture-specific:

Importance of scientific reasoningEx) Islamic educational system: transmit faith,

general knowledge and appreciation for poetry andliterature

Reaching 4th stage