Exam 2- Week 6 Flashcards
(22 cards)
Parenting (Bornstein)
Cultural beliefs and behaviors shape how parents care for their children
- langauge and school prep
- different ways to talk to/direct children
Parents play a key role in maintaining and transmitting culture
Cultural variation
-both similarities and differences found
Cultural universals and specifics in parenting
cultures differ in
->competencies they emphasize (important for culture)
->timing for developmental milestones (different experiences)
even similar cultures, on some dimensions, can have different goals in development
->US: autonomy, verbal competence, self-actualization, and assertiveness
->Japan: emotional maturity, self-control, social courtesy, and interdependence
Form (way parenting behaviors or cognition is expressed) and function (purpose or meaning attached to that form) in parenting behaviors across cultures
Utility of this info
- Are there best parenting practices for child development?
- >Those that prepare child for the culture of their society - Can this info be helpful to parents living in diverse societies?
- >Know how different behaviors have different meanings in different cultures - Main finding
- >When parenting is consistent with cultural norms, children are better adjusted
Cultural beliefs and behaviors shape how parents care for their children
Talking to babies
- language and school prep (Western)
- -> predicts school adjustment
Different ways to talk to/direct children
-Western middle class- suggestion
Parents play a key role in
Maintaining and transmitting culture
Cultural variation
Both similarities and differences found
Bornstein et al.- study in Argentina, Belgium, Israel, Italy, US (all middle class, modern cultures)
- mothers differed in every behavior category
- emphasis by mothers on things related to infant development (more practice -> better)
- mothers and babies are in tune with one another and these correspondences are domain specific (rituals -> synchronization)
Cultural universals and specifics in parenting
Some demands on parents universal
Some are specific
Cultures differ in
-competencies they emphasize (important for culture)
-timing for developmental milestones (different experiences)
Even similar cultures, on some dimensions, can have different goals in development
-US: autonomy, verbal competence, self-actualization, and assertiveness
-Japan: emotional maturity, self-control, social courtesy, and interdependence
Form and function in parenting behaviors across cultures
Form- way parenting behaviors or cognition is expressed (baby talk)
Function- purpose or meaning attached to that form (teach child to pay attention to talking person)
Are there best parenting practices for child development?
Those that prepare child for the culture of their society
Can this info be helpful to parents living in diverse societies?
Know how different behaviors have different meanings in different cultures
Main finding
When parenting is consistent with cultural norms, children are better adjusted
Peers and development (Chen)
Peer interaction provides opportunities for children to
- lean social and problem solving skills from peers
- learn rules and standards of behavior (socially skilled, fuel more relationships)
- develop social relationships, including feelings of security and belonging (when anxiety is down, better learner)
Role of culture: Determines -nature (what kids do together) -frequency -features (the actual things they do) Of peer interaction
Argues: peer interaction is the bridge between culture and socioemotional development
Support:
Help build behaviors that match norms and values of the culture
-accept (and reject) children who display these behaviors (or not)
->which, in turn, regulate the development of peer behaviors (want positive evaluations)
->children play active role in this process (accept/reject) others and child regulates self
-accept the culturally normative values (those not accepted are less socially competent)
How do relationships with peers affect socioemotional development and adjustment?
Middle school relationships are good predictor
Peer interaction provides opportunities for children to
Lean social and problem solving skills from peers
Learn rules and standards of behavior (socially skilled, fuel more relationships)
Develop social relationships, including feelings of security and belonging (when anxiety is down, better learner)
Role of culture
Determines -nature (what kids do together) -frequency -features (the actual things they do) Of peer interaction
Argues: peer interaction is the bridge between culture and socioemotional development
Help build behaviors that match norms and values of the culture
- accept (and reject) children who display these behaviors (or not)
- > which, in turn, regulate the development of peer behaviors (want positive evaluations)
- > children play active role in this process (accept/reject) others and child regulates self
- accept the culturally normative values (those not accepted are less socially competent)
EXAMPLE:
Emphasis on self-initiative
-being mean to someone you don’t like is acceptable in Canada and US, NOT in interdependent cultures
Emphasis on self-control and compliance
-solve peer disagreements with adult intervention? when does it seem like child should be able to do by self?
Goncu et al. (2000)
ALL children play
Similarities across cultures
Differences across cultures
What these patterns tell us
Similarities in play across cultures
Play reflective of growth (developmental milestones- ex. Theory of Mind)
-discovering self (gender)
Learn culture
During child-parent play
- becomes instructional at some point
- isn’t possible to challenge when partner wants to stop (important to learn; only possible in peer play)
Child play highly regulated
- sports
- choose what toys they play with
- need to learn self regulation (developmental with peers)
Don’t need extended play time to develop skills
Cognitive development in cultural context
Cognitive development (acquisition, organization, and use of knowledge)
- includes
- > attention
- > concept formation (units/classifications of knowledge)
- > classification
- > memory
- > problem solving and planning
Culture mediates cognition and its development (Vygotsky)
- info in world -> culture -> person’s knowledge
- > most pronounced is language (ultimate symbol of culture)
Thinking in niches (Gauvain, 1998)
Main claims:
In all societies, most children grow up to be competent members
-exceptions: mental or emotional incapacities
Research should focus on how children develop skills and knowledge needed in their culture
Cognitive subsystems of the developmental niche
Activity goals
- example: street children in brazil, need math. Can do these kinds of problems very easily, problems like those seen in school are difficult
- > US, struggle with word problems
- > will do well, when tested on what they practice (their realm)
Material and symbolic tools
- example: abacus instrumental in developing mathematical skills
- US children, trouble counting 11-20 because of language (symbolic tool)
- renaissance- those who weren’t able to before, could engage in more flexible trade because of new Arabic numeral system (easy to learn, no specialist; hand written calculations vs. mental) as opposed to Roman numerals (counting boards, specialists- regulated trade)
Higher-level structures and practices
- schooling
- communication norms
- important
- > organize minds
- > connect with others in culture (work together, share ideas, difficult to work with those from other cultures)
Conclusion
-heads organized in ways valued and usable in own culture -> competency (want to be accepted and share ideas; be a part of something)
Human capacity to participate in and learn from culture (Herrmann et al.)
Questions
- what skills do we posses to do this?
- how and when do they develop?
- are they unique to out species?
Their study (cultural intelligence hypothesis)
Herrmann et al. study (cultural intelligence hypothesis)
Studied human children, chimps, and orangutans on several cognitive tests
Aim- to determine if there are any distinctive human cognitive capabilities
Participants
- 106 chimps (53 males; 3-21 years old)
- 32 orangutans (17 males; 3-10 years old)
- 105 human children (52 males; 2.5 years old)
Cognitive tests
- physical knowledge (space, quantity) and causality
- social knowledge (communication, Theory of Mind, social learning)
Results
- physical
- > all groups pretty EQUAL
- > space, quantities, and causality all pretty similar
- social
- > human children SIGN BETTER at tasks
- > social learning greatest differences, least difference in communication, and Theory of Mind
- almost NO gender effects
- > would think girl to be more social than boys, may be socialized in, not natural tendencies
Conclusions
- results provide strong support for the cultural intelligence hypothesis
- human beings have evolved some specialized social-cognitive skills for living and exchanging knowledge in cultural groups
- > including
- communicating with others
- learning from others
- “reading the mind” of others (Theory of Mind)
- no support for general intelligence theory
- ->we are distinct from other primates in just SOME ways, NOT ALL ways
Domestic dogs
Mutual exclusivity task
-object has only one name
Solving physical and social tasks
-score with human child for social tasks
