Cultural Psychology Chapter 11: Human Development: - PowerPoint Presentation

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Cultural Psychology

Chapter 11: Human Development: Processes, Transitions, and Rituals

Robyn M. Holmes

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Chapter 11 Outline

Development 

Ways to Measure Development

Models of Development

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Chapter 11 Outline

Childbirth

Culture across Disciplines –

Infant Mortality

Cross-cultural Comparisons of Childbirth

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Chapter 11 Outline

Infancy

Should the Baby Sleep with Us?

Temperament

Studying Temperament: Thomas

and Chess’ Longitudinal Study

Goodness of Fit and Culture and Temperament

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Chapter 11 Outline

Childhood

Socialization and Enculturation Processes

Culture Specific and Cross-cultural Studies

of Childhood

The Street Children of Haiti

The Six Cultures Study on Socialization

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Chapter 11 Outline

Gender Socialization and Culture

Modernization and Gender Socialization

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Chapter 11 Outline

Moral Development

Kohlberg’s Cognitive Model of Moral

Development

Hauser’s Grammar of Morality

Shweder’s

Ethics of Autonomy,

Community, and Divinity

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Chapter 11 Outline

Adolescence

Adolescent Storm and Stress

Parent-adolescent Conflict

Adolescent Experiences in the 21

st

Century

Culture Specific, Ethnographic Studies on

Adolescence

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Chapter 11 Outline

Body Image

Rites of Passage – Female Circumcision

Other Issues in Adolescence

Social Media Use in Adolescence

Work

Dating and Sex

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Chapter 11 Outline

Emerging Adulthood

Where Do You Find Emerging Adults?

Feeling “In Between”

Self and Identity

Love and Sexuality

Youth Culture, Media, and Technology

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Chapter 11 Outline

Late Adulthood

What Is Aging?

Culture and Aging

Culture Specific, Ethnographic Studies on

Aging

Cross-cultural Studies on Cognitive Decline

Alzheimer’s disease and Culture

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Chapter 11 Learning Goals

Discuss how Western ideas, concepts, and norms dominate the developmental literature and why these may not be applicable in other cultural settings

Compare Cole and Packer’s (2011) model of bio-social-cultural change model with Super and Harkness’ (1986) developmental niche

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Chapter 11 Learning Goals

Discuss how biology and culture connect using the process of childbirth

Synthesize how culture shapes infant sleeping arrangements and temperament

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Chapter 11 Learning Goals

Provide an example of how social, cultural, and historical forces shape conceptions of childhood

Compare the different approaches to moral development

Identify the universal and culturally specific characteristics of adolescence

Discuss the function of puberty rites to cultures in which they exist

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Chapter 11 Learning Goals

Identify the characteristics of emerging adulthood

Define the concept of aging and the characteristics associated with this developmental stage

Provide examples that illustrate the connection between aging and culture

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Engaging with Culture

Barker’s (2009) work on aging on Niue, an island in the South Pacific highlights these themes:

Culture shapes developmental outcomes

Culture is lived, experienced, and shared

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Barker’s (2009) work on aging on Niue

Polynesian cultural practices and routines emphasize obedience to authority figures, respect for elders; and a strong work ethic

The Niue care for elders who are healthy and productive, yet ridicule and neglect the helpless and weak

Why would a society that values and respects its elders treat weak elders so harshly?

In the Niuean worldview, people become frail or ill because they acted selfishly or did not pay proper respect to their ancestors

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Barker’s (2009) work on aging on Niue

Humiliating and teasing frail elders in poor health is common

The cultural routine, teasing is a means of control and the afflicted accept such treatment

Cultural values justify harsh treatment of the aged sick, and everyday practices and social interactions reinforce these values

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Barker’s (2009) work on aging on Niue

Family and community minded elders receive good care even when weak; sick aging folks who worried only about themselves do not

Neglecting the frail elderly is justified; if people cannot work, they do not deserve to benefit from the family’s resources

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Barker’s (2009) work on aging on Niue

Weak physical bodies contrast with Polynesian ideals that favor well built, large frames, which symbolize strength and good health

The physical change from productive adult to weak elder symbolizes the Niuean journey from the living to spiritual world

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Barker’s (2009) work on aging on Niue

The cultural practices of socially isolating and neglecting sick and weak elderly are approved ways to interact with these community members

Ghost possession reinforces the harsh treatment of frail elderly folks

Once the transition is complete and the elderly have passed into the spiritual world, they will once again achieve a position of respect

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Ways to Measure Development

Developmental norms - typical characteristics and behaviors associated with a particular age

Example: the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST- II) a guideline for when U.S. children should complete specific tasks

Many societies acknowledge and celebrate developmental milestones such as birth, puberty, and marriage with

Rites of passage -

ceremonies that mark a change in

social status or life stage

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Ways to Measure Development

In many societies, Western norms and developmental stages such as childhood and emerging adulthood may not be culturally relevant

Example:

the Navajo developmental milestones connect to cultural skills and abilities needed to become a productive adult such as when a person “… begins to think”

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Ways to Measure Development

Ontogenetic development - the growth and changes that take place in an individual’s lifetime from conception to death

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Models of Development

Cole and Packer’s bio-social-cultural

model of development

Emphasizes how biological, social, and cultural factors intersect and connect to guide the developmental outcomes and changes that occur throughout our lifetime

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Models of Development

The developmental niche components:

The physical and social settings

in which children develop

Child care and child rearing practices

The psychological characteristics of caregivers

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Childbirth - Who Assists with the Birth?

In many Western nations, birth is a medical event

and physicians guide the birth process

In some communities, women give birth at home in familiar settings assisted by

midwifes (

trained in childbirth) or

doulas

(experienced women)

In other communities,

shamans

or spiritual healers visit expectant mothers

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Cross-cultural Comparisons of Childbirth

Jordan and Davis-Floyd (1993) highlight how cultural values and practices inform and guide the birthing process

Focus upon how experiencing the process helps individuals construct meaning about those cultural practices

Described and compared birthing in Sweden, the U.S., Holland, and the Yucatec, Maya

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Jordan and Davis-Floyd – Birth in Four Cultures

Focused upon

birthing systems

Integrated elements of cultural and social practices that are shared, learned, experienced, and adaptive in those particular social settings

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Jordan and Davis-Floyd – Birth in Four Cultures

Illustrates how everyday activities shape cultural birthing practices

Example -

Discourse routines

(cultural rules that shape what sentences or speech acts should follow one another to help conversational partners maintain common ground) help Yucatec Mayan

midwifes

and women in labor construct meaning about the childbirth process from their conversations

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Jordan and Davis-Floyd – Birth in Four Cultures

Explored how setting and cultural definitions of birth mutually guide birthing system outcomes

U.S. and Swedish births occurred in hospitals. In the Yucatan, they took place at home.

What accounts for these differences?

Local, culture bound definitions guide the birth experie

nce

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Infancy

Should the Baby Sleep with Us?

Proxemics

- the study of how humans use space in specific cultural contexts

Do you think the space where infants sleep influences their cultural learning and development?

What do these arrangements reveal about a culture?

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Infancy and Sleeping Arrangments

The separate parent-infant sleeping arrangement found in many Western European American, middle-income households is actually a rare cultural arrangement

In many communities worldwide, caregivers co-sleep with their infants either in the same bed or same room but in a different bed

Within the U.S., African American, European American, blue collar and Latino families practice co-sleeping

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Infancy and Sleeping Arrangements

What factors influence parents’ decisions about where the baby should sleep?

Morelli and colleagues explored this topic

Interviewed rural, Mayan and

middle-income, American families about

sleep arrangements and bedtime routines

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Infant sleeping arrangements in Mayan and U.S. families

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Morelli and Colleagues – Findings

No American mothers slept with their infants

By the time they were 1-year-old, all American infants had their own rooms

Not one of the Mayan mothers slept apart from their infants

Mayan mothers continued co-sleeping until toddlerhood

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Morelli and Colleagues -

What accounts for these differences?

American parents believed that co-sleeping is dangerous, harmful to children’s development, and an immoral arrangement

Mayan parents believed co-sleeping helps caregivers and children develop emotional connections

Different sleeping practices reinforce cultural values and teach Mayan and American infants about their culture

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What other factors influence parents’ decisions about infant sleeping arrangements?

Schweder and colleagues (1995) asked Indian and American adults to design sleeping arrangements for a hypothetical family using two different scenarios: one room or two rooms

Believed certain moral and cultural ideals shaped peoples’ use of space and consequently proper sleeping arrangements

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Shweder

and Colleagues – Sleeping Arrangements

Both Indian and American adults placed mature boys (men) and girls (women) in separate rooms to avoid sexual relations according to the:

Incest avoidance ideal

- no sexual contact between family members

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Shweder

and Colleagues – Sleeping Arrangements

Two principles influenced only American adults’ decisions about where family members should sleep

The

autonomy ideal -

parents want their children to be independent and self-reliant

The

sacred couple

principle - sleeping alone and apart from children provides couples with a private space for emotional and sexual intimacy

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Shweder

and Colleagues – Sleeping Arrangements

Other moral principles influenced only Indian adults’ decisions about sleeping arrangements

Female chastity anxiety –

the ideal that women should not engage in premarital sex

Respect for hierarchy

principle

–

the ideal that mature boys (men) should receive preferential treatment such as their own space

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Shweder

and Colleagues – Sleeping Arrangements

Protection of the vulnerable –

guarantees that those who are helpless will never be alone and unprotected

Sleeping practices reflect, reinforce, and connect to our moral ideals and cultural values and worldviews

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Culture across Disciplines – Infant Mortality and the Indigenous

Tismane Populations of Bolivia

Infant death might be due to medical complications, unexplained causes such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), malnutrition or mistreatment

Infanticide

or the killing of an infant (often by the caregiver) is a supported cultural practice in some cultural communities

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Infant Mortality and the Indigenous Tismane

Populations of Bolivia

Bolivia is one of the most impoverished countries in South America and indigenous peoples are at a greater risk for poverty, illness, and death compared to the non-indigenous population

Indigenous women also have a high rate of infant deaths

In remote villages, women have limited access to medical care and vaccinations, and infants often die from infections

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Infant Mortality and the Indigenous Tismane

Populations of BoliviaExplanations for infant deaths depend upon cultural views

Many researchers and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) point to medical reasons, such as infection

The

Tismane

believe that unfaithful husbands and sorcery from angry spirits cause infant deaths

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Temperament

Temperament is a relatively stable biological disposition that describes how children characteristically react to their environment

Temperament is inborn; culture and social experience interact to shape its expression and development

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Studying Temperament: Thomas and Chess’ Longitudinal Study

Thomas and Chess conducted The New York Longitudinal Study

133 middle-income, primarily Jewish babies from infancy until adulthood, gathered information on children’s routines, mood, daily behaviors, and childrearing practices

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The New York Longitudinal Study Temperament Categories

Easy Difficult Slow-to-Warm-UpHas positive moods, Has negative moods Has positive and negative moods

Smiles often

Regular rhythms Irregular rhythms Moderate rhythms

Eating, bowel, sleeping Eating, bowel, sleeping Eating, bowel, sleeping

Easily adapts to new Takes time to adapt Slow to adapt to new situations

Situations

situations

Can regulate when Has temper tantrums

Frustrated when frustrated

Smiles at unfamiliar Is wary of unfamiliar Reacts to unfamiliar people

People

people

negatively at first

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Studying Temperament: Thomas and Chess’ Longitudinal Study

Discovered that 40% of the children met the criteria for the easy category

10% were difficult

15% were slow-to-warm-up. Some children

(35%) did not fit neatly into any category

Do you think these percentages hold true for children in other cultural settings?

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Goodness of Fit and Culture and Temperament

Goodness of fit -

the match between a child’s temperament and the demands and constraints the environment places upon it

This includes how children’s temperaments fit with the people in their social world and how these people perceive the children

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Goodness of Fit and Culture and Temperament

Super and Harkness (2009) examined how mothers’ beliefs and understanding of their children’s behaviors shaped their temperamental outcomes

Studied approximately 300 young children and their mothers in Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United States

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Super and Harkness – Goodness of Fit

Dutch parents believe it is important to keep their children on fixed feeding and sleeping schedules; a

difficult child is one who cannot keep to a regular schedule

Italian parents connect temperament to social characteristics such as being open to or withdrawing from social situations;

a difficult child is a shy child

Suggests that cultural values and parental beliefs shape the way parents conceptualize their children’s temperament and their children’s temperamental qualities

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Childhood – Socialization

Through socialization

, children come to know and internalize cultural values, attitudes, and beliefs and shape their behaviors to conform to these expectations

Children come to learn appropriate behaviors through their social interactions with community members

Often occurs through direct instruction

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Childhood - Enculturation

Enculturation is the process through which children internalize cultural meaning rather than explicit rules of behavior

Children acquire cultural knowledge primarily through

indirect instruction

- through observation and imitation without direct or formal instruction

Can you think of examples for direct and indirect instruction?

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Childhood

One way to distinguish socialization and enculturation is ---- Enculturation is the outcome of socialization processes

Example:

Gender typing

is the process by which children acquire gender knowledge --

Gender roles

– cultural expectations for appropriate behavior for men and women in a given society that include behaviors, personality traits, and skills is the outcome

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The Street Children of Haiti

What are street children’s realities?

Kovats-Bernat

(2006) describes Haitian street children’s lived experiences

Street children go about daily activities in incredibly dangerous and unhealthy conditions without adult protection or guidance

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The Street Children of Haiti

Violence is a part of street children’s daily interactions where children are aggressors and victims

Attacking rivals is a necessary strategy

Helps establish children’s dominance and eliminates those who might take away a job opportunity

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The Street Children of Haiti

Sharing resources, having friends, and cooperating are also vital survival strategies

These children need friends - protection on the street from rivals is essential

Street children’s survival strategies reflect the political and economic reality in their country and mimic the violence that exists in their broader social worlds

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The Street Children of Haiti

Children construct meaning about their experiences through street life

Haitian culture highly values education

Street children become educated not in schools but in the cultural space of the streets

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The Street Children of Haiti

Some parents need their children to contribute to the family income, these children head to the streets to work – a culturally valued activity

Do you think street children in other communities have similar experiences?

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The Six Cultures Study on Socialization

Explored how social structure and child rearing practices shape children’s personality development

One of the first attempts to unpack cultural factors that shape gender differences

Gathered information on children’s daily interactions and life with family and peers in Kenya, India, the Philippines, Okinawa, Mexico, and the U.S.

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Gender Socialization and Culture

What did we learn from the SCSS?

Cultural settings (socialization practices, childrearing and daily routines, parents, and peers) influenced children’s gender learning

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Gender Socialization and Culture

Children primarily learn about their gender at home, watching and interacting with their parents

When parents assign children duties and chores based upon gender, participation in these duties produces gender appropriate behavior that children can apply in other social situations

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Gender Socialization and Culture

The SCSS also illuminated how socialization practices shaped children’s behaviors

Girls usually spent more time with their family, especially their mothers

They were also more nurturing and did more chores and domestic work than the boys

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Gender Socialization and Culture

Boys were more adventurous because they spent more time away from home than girls did

Where parents teased their children, the children were more aggressive

By imitating adult activities during play, children learn adult roles

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Modernization and Gender Socialization

– The Inuit Case

Does modernization impact gender socialization?

The Inuit are a marginalized hunting and trapping group who experienced cultural changes due to new social and economic pressures

With modernization, they moved into permanent residences and gained access to snowmobiles, media, and technology

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Modernization and Gender Socialization – The Inuit Case

Technology and media have replaced traditional ways of learning

New ways of supporting a family have changed gender role expectations

Men and women no longer need to work together to maintain a household

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Modernization and Gender Socialization – The Inuit Case

Mothers serve as cultural models for girls who still learn their gender roles through participation in gender appropriate tasks

Boys have no such model

With the new economy, boys no longer need to learn traditional, gender based tasks and there are no real roles for them to fulfill

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Modernization and Gender Socialization – The Inuit Case

Because boys have difficulty finding work, they rarely do

Inuit boys are struggling with their cultural identity because they no longer identify with traditional values and don’t fit in to mainstream culture

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Moral Development

Moral development

is the process by which we acquire knowledge about how we treat others with respect to fairness, justice, welfare, and harm including how we reason or make judgements on issues of right and wrong

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Kohlberg’s Cognitive Model of Moral Development

Levels of moral development shape our understanding of right and wrong

Children across cultures pass through these levels in the same order moving from lower to higher stages

The last level is universal and independent of culture

All cultures may not achieve the highest level of moral development

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Challenges to Kohlberg -

Snarey

Compared moral reasoning across 27 groups who differed along cultural, religious, and subsistence styles

Found that adults in all the cultural groups reached the conventional level of moral reasoning

Rural, traditional groups did not achieve post-conventional reasoning

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Challenges to Kohlberg -

Snarey

Argued that Kohlberg’s theory, rooted in Western thinking, favored urban communities and dominant religious belief systems

People in traditional cultures may also be more sensitive to the importance of social rules than individual rights

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Hauser’s Grammar of Morality

Hauser (2006) believed:

We have an inborn ability to extract the rules of morality from the settings in which we live

Researchers test this view using moral dilemmas

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The Trolley Dilemma

A speeding trolley will hit and kill five people stranded on a railroad track

Diverting the car to another track will save the five but kill another on that track

In the footbridge dilemma, to save the five people a person must push an overweight pedestrian off a bridge unto the track to stop the trolley

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The Trolley Dilemma

Evidence supports that people worldwide favor diverting the trolley to save the lives of others --- But not pushing someone for the same purpose

People distinguish harm for a purpose and harm because of one’s actions.

Results are so consistent across cultures that these may be universals in moral reasoning

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Miller’s Moral Dilemma (1994) with Indian and American Participants

A person is responsible for delivering the wedding rings to his friend’s wedding

Someone steals his wallet at the train station along with his train ticket; H

e is unable to buy another ticket and cannot get to the wedding

Is it acceptable to steal a train ticket from another person’s pocket so you could attend a best friend’s wedding because you had the wedding rings?

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Miller’s Moral Dilemma (1994) with Indian and American Participants

Almost the entire Indian sample judged this behavior as appropriate, while only half the American sample did

What accounts for these differences?

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Miller’s Moral Dilemma (1994) with Indian and American Participants

Both samples judged stealing as an immoral act

The Indian sample was willing to overlook this

Keeping a promise to your friends reinforces the Hindu concept of duty which influenced their moral reasoning about whether to steal the ticket

These judgements reflect the Indian worldview and daily social interactions support and encourage these types of actions

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Shweder’s

Ethics of Autonomy, Community, and Divinity

Shweder

and colleagues (1997):

Argue that people behave and reason according to three ethical codes which exist in all cultures but to varying degrees

Autonomy

Community

Divinity

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Shweder’s

Ethics Principles

Autonomy, Community and Divinity

Autonomy

- Focuses on the self and individual interests, freedom and rights; an act is wrong if it brings harm to another person; found in all cultures

Community

- Focuses upon social groups, rules, and norms; these groups have moral authority; individuals must fulfill certain responsibilities and roles in their community; an act is wrong when a person fails to fulfill his or her duties and obligations

Divinity

- Based on religious beliefs and rules; respecting and protecting the world God and other divine beings created

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Shweder’s

Ethics of Autonomy, Community, and Divinity

In Western communities, one is likely to find that

autonomy

dominates moral reasoning because cultural values and beliefs emphasize individual rights

In many non-Western communities, however,

community

and

divinity

guide people’s moral decisions more so than autonomy

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Shweder’s

Ethics of Autonomy, Community, and Divinity

All three are present in all cultures, but their importance in shaping decisions connects to cultural values and beliefs which guide the way we interpret moral dilemmas and actions

Ethical codes develop through maturity and experience over the course of a person’s life

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How emerging adults in diverse cultures use the principles of autonomy, community, and divinity

Guerra and

Giner-Sorolla

(2015)

Asked college students from Brazil, Israel, Japan, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand to complete a morality scale that measured the degree to which they use the ethics autonomy, community, and divinity

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Cross-Cultural Comparison of Moral Codes Means -

Guerra & Giner-Sorolla

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Guerra and

Giner-Sorolla

(2015)

Findings support

Shweder

et al.’s (1997) model of morality; all three ethics appear in these countries but to different degrees

Autonomy, which emphasizes fairness and justice is the most supported moral principle in all countries

The second most supported ethic was community

Divinity was the least endorsed

Cultural values and experiences of emerging adults shape their ratings of these ethics

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Adolescence

Adolescence

is the developmental period between childhood and adulthood

During the transition, adolescents experience hormonal, anatomical, cognitive, psychological, and cultural changes

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Adolescent Storm and Stress

G. Stanley Hall (1904) believed adolescence was a universal period of “storm and stress and biologically driven

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Mead’s Challenge to Adolescent Storm and Stress

Margaret Mead (1928) was the first person to challenge this view

Her work with Samoan adolescents demonstrated that Hall’s Western view of adolescence as a rebellious period did not hold true for all communities.

Many contemporary researchers support Mead’s claims that most adolescents do not experience tension and rebellion

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Parent-Adolescent Conflict

What factors cause conflict between parents and teens?

Pubertal changes

As teens become sexually mature, so do their desires for sexual relations

As teens grow physically, they may no longer fear confronting their parents

Issues over authority and decision making power

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Challenges Parent-adolescent Conflict Across Cultures

The conflict and the cultural scripts that guide Western parent-adolescent conflict are not present

in all cultures

Schelgel

and Barry (1991) found that these types of conflicts are rare in traditional cultures where parents and children mutually depend upon one another for survival and emotional support

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Adolescent Experiences in the 21

st

Century

Adolescent experiences vary widely in the 21

st

century

Sib-care

- when older children serve as caregivers for younger siblings or community members

Role reinforces cultural values of obligation and the importance of family relationships

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Culture Specific, Studies on Adolescence - Morocco

Davis and Davis (1995; 2007; 2012)

Aql

is a central concept that relates to adolescent development; translates roughly as the ability to reason and understand and exhibit self-control and restraint

Moroccan adults believe that adolescents lack

aql

Adolescence serves as a time when teens learn to acquire these qualities

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Culture Specific, Studies on Adolescence - Morocco

Davis and Davis (1995; 2007; 2012) 

Moroccan society also acknowledges biological changes during adolescence

Taysh

translates as reckless and impulsive; connects to hormonal changes and new found sexual desires

Chastity is highly valued in Moroccan society

and important for girls

Marriage is the rite of passage at the end of adolescence

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Body Image

Body weight and image are important concerns in adolescence; obesity is becoming a global health concern

Alwan

and colleagues (2011) studied body image and weight control with Seychelles teenage girls

Illustrates how changing cultural attitudes and values about body size shape teenagers’ thoughts and actions

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Alwan and colleagues (2011)

Seychelles Teenage Body Image

Traditional cultural views of attractiveness favor heavier frames for women, which indicate health, attractiveness, and status

Teens in Seychelles, a developing nation, may be adopting Western ideals of thinness that relate to physical attractiveness

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Alwan and colleagues (2011)

Seychelles Teenage Body Image

Globalization, Internet access, social media use, and exposure to Western television programming and fashion magazines that promote thinness are influencing teenagers’ cultural ideals regarding attractiveness and beauty

Slide100

Rites of Passage – Female Circumcision

Rites of passage - ceremonies that mark a change in social status or life change

In many traditional societies, adolescent rites of passage carry cultural, social, and spiritual meaning

These rituals guarantee the next generation of parents will be well-prepared with the cultural knowledge and skills they will need to become culturally competent adults and productive community members

Slide101

Rites of Passage - Female Circumcision (FC)

Also called Female Genital Modification (FGM) or

Female Genital Cutting

May involve mild modification such as genital stretching or partial or total removal of the clitoris

Exist in many parts of the world and appear most frequently in Africa and the Middle East

Slide102

Rites of Passage - Female Circumcision (FC) or FGM

Why does this cultural practice exist?

In patriarchal societies it controls women’s behaviors and sexuality

Local, socially and culturally situated reasons for these practices include:

Cultural beauty ideals

Enhancing sexual pleasure

A connection to cultural identity

Necessary to become an adult and

desirable marriage partner

Slide103

Rites of Passage - Female Circumcision (FC) or FGM

The debate over female genital modification continues today

Some health professionals, human rights activists, and researchers advocate that the practice be eliminated as it causes the participants undue pain

Some cultural psychologists advocate that outsiders should not judge the cultural practices of other societies

Slide104

Other Issues in Adolescence –Social Media Use in Adolescence

Holmes,

Liden

, and Shin (2013) explored adolescence social media use in a Pacific Rim community

Caregivers in this community worry that their children spend too much time on social media, which caregivers view as a socially isolating activity

Slide105

Social Media Use in Adolescence in the Pacific Rim

Holmes, Liden and Shin

Talking story

– a Hawaiian phrase for gossiping, socializing, and storytelling

These teenagers were able to combine their collectivist values with the advantages of electronic communication by using these new communication forms to complement and extend those social interactions

Slide106

Social Media Use in Adolescence in the Pacific RimHolmes, Liden and Shin

Findings:

Teenagers call and text family and friends

Teenagers use social media to stay in contact with family and friends geographically distant from them

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Work and Adolescents

Adolescence is a time when many teenagers acquire

work skills

- skills related to future duties, responsibilities, and occupations

Work and work related responsibilities vary across cultural communities; intersect with

socioeconomic status and available opportunities

Slide108

Work and Adolescents - Examples

In Cameroon, teenagers are expected to contribute to the family by completing chores

Boys help with the cattle and girls assist with sib- care and domestic activities

In China, wealthy children concentrate on school and are not expected to work

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Emerging Adulthood 

Emerging adulthood — in Western thinking the life stage between adolescence and adulthood (18-25 years)

Characteristics of this period include:

Feeling in-between

Focus on the self

Instability and experimentation

Possibility

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Feeling “In Between”

Badger, Nelson and Barry (2006) illustrated how cultural context shapes the appearance and characteristics of emerging adulthood in China

Asked Chinese and American college students if they had entered adulthood

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Badger, S., Nelson, L., & Barry, C. (2006). Perceptions of the transition to adulthood among Chinese and American emerging adults

Slide112

Feeling “In Between” – Badger, Nelson, and Barry

Findings:

Chinese respondents believed they had entered adulthood; the majority of American students believed they had not

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Feeling “In Between” – Badger, Nelson, and Barry

Chinese college students also reported emerging adulthood characteristics that reflect the Chinese cultural values:

Obedience and self-restraint

Being sensitive to others

Obtaining an education

Becoming financially able to take care of one’s parents

Focusing less on the self and more on family

Marriage and children

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Self and Identity

Is identity exploration equally important in all cultures in which emerging adulthood appears?

For young adults acquiring an interdependent self, a personal identity may not be important

Some young adults may pursue a college degree that leads to a world full of possibilities

Slide115

Self and Identity

Other young adults will enter the workforce in whatever job is available to them

The lived reality for many young adults who live in traditional farming or herding communities holds little opportunity

Slide116

Love and Sexuality

Cultural values and norms influence young adults’ ability to explore their identity through love and romantic relationships

Cultural scripts for dating

In China, teenagers are strongly discouraged from dating and instead are encouraged to do well in school

Slide117

Love and Sexuality

In India, dating is a foreign concept and one that young adults experience through Western media

For many Western young adults, sexual activity is a norm

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Youth Culture, Media, and Technology

Emerging adults share one common experience – media use

Emerging adults are digital natives, the first generation raised on technology

Globalization and modernization have provided media access and created affluence and educational opportunities worldwide for many young adults

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Late Adulthood

Aging

or

senescence

is the natural progression of growing older that includes changes in appearance and functioning:

Greying hair

Loss of bone density

Memory loss

These changes are true universals in the human

experience

Slide120

Culture Specific, Ethnographic Study 

on Aging

The

Ju

/’

hoansi

of Botswana

Local cultural categories of aging distinguish the elderly by whether they contribute to the community or need assistance

The

Ju

/’

hoansi

do not mind aging

Aging brings certain privileges and a change in social status

Slide121

Culture Specific, Ethnographic Study 

on Aging

Why do aging

Ju

/’

hoansi

constantly complain about being neglected or receiving inadequate care?

Care in old age is a right and elders do not perceive themselves as burdensome

Cultural scripts like complaining allow elders a culturally approved way to express their needs

Ju

/’

hoansi

highly discourage drawing attention to oneself or bragging

Slide122

Cross-cultural Studies on Cognitive Decline

Crook and his team

Compared Belgian and American adults’ performance on everyday memory tasks

Different age groups performed on the same memory tasks

Slide123

Crook, T.,

Youngjohn, J., Larrabee, G., &

Salama

, M. (1992). Aging and everyday memory: A cross-cultural study.

Neuropsychology, 6(2),

123-136

.

Slide124

Cross-cultural Studies on Cognitive Decline

Crook and his team concluded:

Memory declines with age

No cultural differences in memory decline

Suggests the process may be universal

Contemporary research supports these claims

Slide125

Alzheimer’s Disease and Culture

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an incurable, progressive brain disorder that affects individuals worldwide

Symptoms:

Memory problems

Decreasing cognitive skills and abilities

Confusion

Carrying out simple daily tasks

Slide126

Alzheimer’s Disease and Culture

Cultural heritage shapes the onset, appearance, reporting, explanation, treatment, and care of AD

Chinese attitudes towards dementia connect to the Chinese worldview that as people age, they become more dependent or childlike

Slide127

Alzheimer’s Disease and Culture

If an aging Chinese adult forgets his or her address, there is no cause for concern as there might be in an American family

In the Chinese worldview, elders are simply becoming childlike

Slide128

Alzheimer’s Disease and Culture

Chinese perceptions of aging and the importance of interdependency shape the care of elder adults with dementia

Many Chinese focus upon a person’s physical rather than psychological needs

Elders are rarely left alone, t

his practice maintains family and social interactions

Slide129

Alzheimer’s Disease and Culture

Comparably, many European Americans attend to the psychological needs of an ailing family member

Those with dementia in the U.S. are often socially isolated

European American perceptions of aging and the cultural values of autonomy shape the care of the aging