Human Development and Socialization

Human Development and Socialization Chapter 8

Development and Socialization • Human Development • The changes in physical, psychological and social behavior that are experienced by individuals across life span • Growth, decline and modification • Socialization • Process by which the individual becomes a member of a particular culture

What impacts child development • Quality of life • Access to food • Living condition • Quality of education • Violence • Family size • Western families-nuclear family • Non western – extended family • Technological advancements/socioeconomic improvements

What impacts child development – Studies • Knight and Kagan • Showed that 2nd and 3rd generation Mexican American children had slower frequency of altruistic behavior compared to their 1st generation Mexican American peers who are less economically advanced • Vygotsky • Showed that kids with more intelligent parents are quicker to advance intellectually • Rogoff • Showed that in working class communities and preindustrial communities, parents tend to assume that children can learn things on their own

Norms, Customs, and Child Care • What impacts child development/socialization • Who they play with • Where they spend their time • What the child’s role is • People living in collectivist countries have authoritarian styles of parenting • Strict demands, behavioral control • African cultures value obedience while Western cultures condemn most forms of adult-child coercion

Norms, Customs, and Child Care • Children roles • Dependent on gender • Girls are more likely to stay close to home • Boys are more likely to be independent • Dependent on culture • Muslim families discourage rough-and-tumble play • Thumb sucking is considered wrong by white South African mothers • Japanese women do not leave their kids with sitters • Reason why Japanese boys have a higher rate of anxiety when their parents are not their (Bornstein & Tamis-LeMonda)

Parental Values and Expectations • Developmental timetables • Expecting your children to acquire certain characteristics by a certain age • Cultural differences • Development of skills • Israeli of European background mothers expected their children to develop cognitive skills earlier than those of non European background • US mothers expected their children to become assertive earlier than Japanese mothers • Study between 175 mothers from India, Japan and England • Mothers expected their children to be competent in different areas at different ages • Formal education • Chinese mothers were more willing to sacrifice for the sake of their children than US mothers were • European mothers stressed children’s self esteem and less motivation for education • Behavior • Study between 30 US and 30 Japanese mothers • Both emphasized social cooperativeness and interpersonal sensitivity • US mothers were strict about aggression and disruptive behavior • Japanese were strict about social insensitivity and uncooperativeness

Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development • All humans pass through eight developmental stages from birth to death • Stages are characterized by a developmental conflict • Positive resolution, personal ego is strengthened-> healthier personality • Negative resolution, personal ego is weakened-> unhealthier personality • Healthy person • Hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care, wisdom • Need for encouragement of growth in virtues the person is missing • Criticism • Mixes objective description with subjective prescription

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development • Stages • Sensorimotor stage • When infants learn about their interaction with environment • Preoperational stage • Development of language acquisition • Concrete • Logic • Understand that volume, amount and weight may stay the same despite physical changes • Formal operations • Ability to think abstractly

Opinions on Piaget’s Theory • Dasen • Suggests that the sequence is universal across cultures • People think that the methods used to conclude the stages is unreliable • People had limited understanding of the languages they were testing for • Accurate birth dates were not available • Ability to make practice decisions is not explained by this theory • Some believe formal operational stage is not achieved by all adults in all societies

Stages of Moral Development According to Kohlberg • Preconventional Level • Stage 1 - Based what is wrong and right on fear of punishment • Stage 2 – Moral conduct produces pleasure, whereas immoral conduct results in unwanted consequences • Conventional Level • Stage 3 – Behavior is good if it is approved by significant others • Stage 4 – Laws determine what is moral and immoral • Postconventional Level • Stage 5 – Behavior is based on individual rights and social circumstance • Stage 6 – Behavior is regulated by universal ethical principles that may rise above the law

Opinions on Kohlberg's Theory • Snarey • Saw that first two stages appear to be universal • Methodology of testing might have been unreliable • Hypothetical stories only related well to US subjects • Developmental stages are linked to values of liberalist western societies • Ma and Cheung • Saw that different cultures value each stage of moral development differently • Chinese – traditional norms, conformity to primary groups • Western – individual rights, protection of the law

Developmental Stages • Classification • Life events • Birthdays, weddings, graduations, job promotions • Biological, behavioral and physiological changes • Permanent teeth, first words, first menstruation, menopause, grey hair • Symbolic events • First intercourse, reaching the drinking age • Age • Prenatal period, infancy, childhood, adolescence • Classification may change depending on culture

Life before Birth: Prenatal Period • Things that can impact development • Hunger, violence, radiation exposure, pollution, lack of professional prenatal care • Attitudes toward pregnancy • Traditional collectivist countries • Family centered with guidance from family • Individualist societies • Childbirth is more private • These classifications are very general though

First Steps: Infancy • Infant mortality varies from country to country • Depends on socioeconomic and political conditions • US – 6.7/1,000 • Afghanistan – 144/1,000 • Child temperament • Genetic basis • Environmental basis • How a parent responds to their child crying • US – uses words • Kenyan/Bostonian – touch, hold or talk • Recognition of people • Most infants develop attachment around 7 months • Attachment patterns • Anxious and avoidant – Children do not pay attention to their parents • Western European countries • Anxious and resistant – Children stay close to parents • Non- Western countries • Securely attached – Children are more threatened by a strangers

First Steps: Infancy • Right-handedness • Prevalent in all cultures – genetic • Some practices force children not to be left-handed • Motor development • Use of difference techniques • Africans develop motor skills before white children • Brest feeding • Industrial nations breast feed less • Availability of formula, freedom of choice for women to decide • Language development • What you are exposed to impacts ability to make sounds • Japanese - difficulties pronouncing L’s • Russian – difficulties see difference between i and ee

Discovering the World: Childhood • Childhood- period of continuous growth, learning and development • Early years – wishful thinking, fantasy, magic • Middle childhood – more abstract but still based on observation and direct experience • Easier to understand war than peace • Domino and Hannah • Children tell stories based on what they are exposed to • Chinese – authority, moral rectitude • US – more physical aggression • Eating • Cross cultural - coaxing children into eating • Differences • Muslims do not eat pork • Hindu may never try beef • Europeans avoid dog’s meat

Discovering the World: Childhood • Sleeping • Cosleeping – Indian Mexicans • Separate bedrooms – US and Western mothers • Play • Cross cultural – encouraging cooperation, sharing and competition • North America – More competitive • Suppression-facilitation hypothesis • Behaviors that are discouraged in a culture will be seen infrequently in mental health facilities • Behaviors that are rewarded will be seen excessively • Evidence to support this from Weisz experiment

Major Rehearsal: Adolescence • Adulthood – developmental stage and cultural phenomenon • Characteristics of adolescence • Cross-culturally • Weight and height • Women mature earlier than men • Formal thinking replace concrete thinking • Thinking • Contradiction, unpredictable assumptions, sudden turns, rebellion • Social and political conditions • Studies • Horowits and Kraus • North American students are peer-group oriented • Soviet Union students were teacher oriented • Explanation – USSR had a stronger emphasis on discipline • Fraczek • Poland (socialist at the time) reported more aggression in their attitudes than those of Dinland • Explanation - Polish lived in a state of emergency and violence during that time • Elbedour • Jewish adolescents expressed less of a need to control or to conform to their friends than Bedouin adolescents • Explanation – Individualist vs. Collectivists

Adulthood • Def – represents maturity, responsibility and accountability • Persistence vs. openness • Persistence – Behaviors learned early in life do not change later • Openness – people change their attitudes and behaviors in effort to adjust to changing situations • Conclusion – openness • Development of identity • Def – view of themselves as individuals and members of society • Identity is based on culture • Traditional societies – accept their identity in the systematic and coherent environment • Western societies – offer individuals a wide range of options • Education’s impact • People start waiting long to have families • Emerging adulthood • Period from late teens to mid-twenties • Characterized by self-focused exploration • Wisdom of adults • Fluid intelligence – ability to form concepts, think abstractly and apply knowledge • In western societies this is looked at as an indicator of success • Crystallized intelligence – accumulated knowledge and experience • In non-Western societies, this is looked at as an indicator of success

Late Adulthood • Characteristics • Skin becomes less elastic, hair loss, bones become brittle, cardiovascular system becomes less efficient. • What makes one classify as being in late adulthood • Retirement, giving up major family responsibilities • Cross culture • US – retirement age is 65 • Russia – retirement age is 55 • Norway – retirement age is 70 • Life expectancy • Japan/Switzerland – 80 • Nigeria/Bangladesh/Chad – lower than 60 • Social status • Collectivist cultures – elderly have high social status • Individualist cultures – elderly are isolated and rejected • Yu • Showed that respect of elderly is higher in Japan and China than it is in the US • Fuligni and Pedersen • Examined 745 ethnically diverse group of US individuals from secondary school to adulthood • Sense of family obligation increased as they moved to young adulthood • Elder and Conger • Showed that familial support among teenagers increases during economic crises • Understanding death • Early childhood – time is limitless • Early adulthood – realizing time is scare • Middle age + - time is seriously limited

Human Development and Socialization