12. Culture Flashcards
(35 cards)
Why should increased attention be paid to the role of culture and ethnicity in the study of adolescence today?
Increased global interdependence. Extensive contact between people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds is rapidly becoming the norm. Current research is too eurocentric.
Why do we conduct cross-cultural studies?
Provide information about other cultures, and see to what extent is development universal or cultural specific.
What characterizes individualistic cultures?
- priority to personal rather than group goals
- emphasizes self-serving goals (eg. feeling good, personal achievement, independence, competition and power)
What characterizes collectivistic cultures?
- emphasizes values that serve the group by subordinating personal goals to preserve group integrity, interdependence of members, and harmonious relationships
- cooperative and obedience to authority
- modest and humble
- save others and own’s face
How do self-conceptions differ for individualistic and collectivistic cultures?
individualistic – describe personal traits (“I am assertive”)
collectivistic – describe group affiliations (“I am chinese”) but recently the Chinese are increasingly including more individualistic characteristics in their descriptions.
What do individualistic culture parents emphasize in teaching their child?
1) personal choice
2) intrinsic motivation
3) self-esteem
4) self-maximization (achieving one’s full potential)
What do collectivistic culture parents emphasize in teaching their child?
1) connectedness to family and other close relationships
2) orientation to larger group (school, society)
3) respect and obedience
What are some critics of the individualistic and collectivistic dichotomy?
- too broad and simplistic, especially with increase in globalisation
- regardless of cultural background, people need to have a positive sense of self and connectedness to others to develop effectively.
- most families tend to emphasize both values, not juts one
What are the downsides of having too much unstructured time?
Adolescents usually end up engaging in non-challenging activities like hanging out and watching TV.
What can be done to reduce amount of unstructured time?
Have more structured voluntary activities, especially if adults give responsibility to adolescents, challenge them, and provide competent guidance in these activities.
Why is attainment of adult status so ambiguous as compared to in the past (primitive cultures)?
- absence of clear-cut rites of passage
What are some characteristics of high SES adolescents in Singapore? (5)
- parents have a lot of money and work in prestigious occupations (doctor, banker, businessmen)
- live in attractive houses and neighbourhoods
- regularly enjoy vacations abroad
- attend schools where mix of students is primarily from similar SES as them
- parents tend to be more authoritative (more conversational and democratic, use less physical punishment)
What are some characteristis of low SES adolescents? (5)
- parents do not have much money and work in less prestigious occupations. parents work long hours and can’t spend time with them. little parental monitoring. conflict over money and chaos at home.
- live in smaller HDBs and poorer housing estates. No table to study, need to share space with siblings, cramped house
- rarely go on vacations. lack learning opportunities.
- attend schools where mix of students is mainly form similar low SES backgrounds
- parents (use more physical punishment, more directive and less conversational, authoritarian)
- at risk for low achievement and emotional problems, and occupational attainment
What are some difficulties faced by the poor? (4)
- often powerless. rarely the decision makers in the workplace. rules are handed down to them in an authoritarian manner. so at home, they similarly hand rules down to kids like that, and don’t allow verbal give and take
- vulnerable to disaster. no financial resources to fall back on when problems arise
- limited range of alternatives. limited job choice, little knowledge of alternatives, and not prepared to make a wise decision.
- little education and inability to read well. cannot teach children.
What do 2-generation interventions in antipoverty programs do?
- provide services for both children and parents.
children: education and after school programmes
parents: adult education, literacy training, job skills training, parenting skills
What are the kind of stressors immigrants face?
1) language barriers
2) dual struggles to preserve identity and acculturate (first generation immigrant adolescents had more internalizing problems than second gen)
3) changes in SES. poverty
4) parent-child conflict over cultural values
5) prejudice and discrimination
What is cultural brokering?
When children and adolescents serve as mediators (cultural and linguistic) for their immigrant parents.
What can we do to integrate ethnic minority communities into society?
Recognizing and respecting these differences is essential to getting along with others in a diverse multicultural world. Increase empathy and understanding.
In what aspects of life does prejudice and discrimination pervade?
jobs, media, interpersonal interactions, daily conversations.
What is media multitasking?
A recent trend whereby one engages in different types of media usage simultaneously. (eg. text messaging while listening to music)
How does media multitasking impair learning?
More susceptible to interference from irrelevant information.
What are some negative influences of screen time?
- makes adolescents passive learners. reduce creativity
- distract them from homework
- reinforces stereotypes
- provide them with violent models of aggression
- present them with unrealistic views of the world
- less time interacting with peers
- decreased physical activity. obesity
- poorer sleep habits
- lower academic achievement
- more permissive attitudes about premarital and recreational sex
What are some positive influences of watching TV? (2)
- motivating educational programs
- increase children’s and adolescents’ awareness of the world beyond their immediate environment
What are some negative impacts of video gaming?
- desensitisation to violence –> more aggressive and more likely to engage in delinquent acts
- reduced empathic concern
