Culture and Socialization

“we all begin with the natural equipment to live a thousand kinds of lives but end having lived only one.” Clifford Gertz

Key Questions How do people become socialized into

particular cultural worlds? How do we acquire culture? How do child-rearing experiences differ

around the world?

Look for these themes How universal predispositions become

shaped in culturally specific ways.

How do people’s experiences as infants and children influence the way they think and act.

Sensitive periods Time in development that allows for ease of

acquiring skills

Provides evidence of preprogramming.

Language acquisition Human are capable of recognizing around

150 phonemes; no language uses more than 70.

Sound categorization

Language Within a year we begin to loose the ability

to understand phonemes not in our native language.

Shibboleths “Lollapalooza”

Fig. 4.1

Is there a sensitive period for cultural learning? Methodologically difficult to study Why?

Minoura (1992) looked at when Japanese born children left Japan

<9 felt relatively distant from Japanese culture 9-15 in between >15 experienced America through Japanese

cultural lense

Fig. 4.2

Divergent childhood experiences Imagine your first weeks in the world. What

was your life like? Consider your environment, your caretakers, your routines?

Weisner (2002) “Parents and children are engaged in

activities, which in turn are loosely organized into a daily routine of life, and in turn, into a ‘cultural career’—a way of life that engages the self, identity, and our sense of personhood and meaning”

Contentious claims? 1. Healthy development and well-being donot

necessarily require many of the scripts and activities that currently preoccupy Western parents.

Well-being is the engagement in everyday activities and routines deemed desirable by one’s cultural community an the psychological experiences produced by that activity

Well-being is found outside the self

Outside ‘pedagogical’ verbal stimulative, achievement driven pathways

Outside just parent/child dyad

Sleeping arrangements Burton and Whiting (1961) surveyed 100

societies and found the US was the only to provide a separate room in the first months of life.

Shweder et al. (1995) Orissa India and Chicago.

Socialization is the process by which a person becomes a member of a new culture

Is something that emerges from thousands of exchanges between caregivers and infants and later peers.

Bidirectional

Individualism and Collectivism Individualism: person pursues autonomy,

independence and personal achievement at the expense of the group

Collectivism: emphasis is on group success and individual aspirations are at times put aside for attainment of group goals

Write 5 words that describe yourself

I Expresses the notion of personal

distinctness and separateness with an emphasis on personal attributes, instead of social responsibility and duty.

I persons describe themselves as independent, assertive, competititive, self assured, efficient, self-sufficient.

C InterdependentConnected with other human beings and experience themselves

as part of an encompassing social relationship

Orientation towards social norm is suppose to maintain social harmony

Your place is often defined through an assigned role (sometimes rooted in religion) India

C person describes self as attentive, respectful, dependent, empathic, self controlled.

Individualistic/Independent

Industrialized west

Collectivistic/Interdependent

Traditional/east

Attachment styles Attacment theory hypothesizes that infants

and parents are biologically prepared to establish close attachment (Bowlby, 1969).

Biological affordance; can look at how it varies cross culturally

Attachment Secure (62%) Avoidant (23%) Anxious/ambivalent (15%)

Attachment is influences by who the child spends time with as well as the most common practices in the culture.

Developmental transitions Terrible 2’s

Riding on the bus in Africa

Adolescence HRAF study of 175 cultures All socieities thought of it as distinct period of

restructuring and role learning (not cultural invention)

Opportunities and choices

Individualistic/Collectivistic response difference

Autonomy and independence may be the key

Dependency conflict in West American middle class “oh what a good

boy, you did that all by yourself, no come here and give me a hug”

“You are so independent, I’m so proud of you. Good job”

Independence is praised but rewards are sought.

Rebellion is found in cross cultural evidence but not universal (44% for boys and 18% for girls).

Individualism and modernity seem to increase difficulties.

Sleeping arrangements What were your sleeping arrangements.

Consider number of rooms, gender and age.

Did it change with time? If so, what meaning to you attribute to that?

Fig. 4.3

India Incest avoidance Protection of the vulnerable Female chastity anxiety Respect for hierarchy

America Incest avoidance Sacred couple Autonomy ideal

Dominican Republic

Definitions Traditional: make living directly from the

land, have not become disconnected from the land

Industrialized: to organize the production of something as an industry: food, clothing, etc. Takes these things out of the personal domain

San Bushman

Ache of Paraguay

Gusii of Kenya

Japan

US