Cultural Beliefs: Chapter 4

1. Cultural Beliefs: Chapter 4 Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D. Dept. of Psychology University of West Florida

2. Culture: • customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of : • racial, • religious, or • other social group; • characteristics features of everyday existence; • set of shared values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, group, or organization

3. Culture and Adolescence • Developmental periods/stages are constructed within a culturally specific context • Defines rules, responsibilities, benefits, and structures appropriate to the period of time we call adolescence • Adolescence, for many cultures reflects a coming of age • Provides specific rituals or rites of passage and specific practices in preparation for adult responsibilities and privileges

4. Cultural Beliefs • Norms, values, standards, and expectations a culture has generated for its participants • In general, adolescents are unique in that their own values are moving toward those of adults in the culture • Intergenerational transmission of beliefs about roles form coherence of society • Changes in beliefs due to historical and individual events form basis for cultural evolution (e.g. Bandura)

5. Socialization: Bringing Individuals into the Culture • Selfregulation—managing one’s behavior in a culturally appropriate way • Rolepreparation—learning the prerequisites for assuming one or more roles as defined by cultural beliefs • Sources of meaning—understanding the essence of human existence (mortality, evil/good, etc)

6. Socialization: Bringing Individuals into the Culture • Socialization is grounded in: religious, political, historical, familial, and individual dispositional factors • Socialization is related to: age, sex/gender, social class, race, etc • Learning one’s appropriate place in one’s culture is based on intentional and incidental learning.

7. Cultural Values—Individualism/Collectivism • Independent self—broad socialization: • Focus is on being schooled to a broad set of norms within which one can choose; • focus is on individual choice and autonomous behavior; • individual success is valued over the collective’s or group’s success/values; • Interdependent self—narrow socialization: • Focus is on being schooled to conform to a single or narrow set of norms • Individual variability is reduced and the collective’s or group’s values are enhanced • Group or collective success is valued over individual success

8. Cultural Values—Individualism/Collectivism • Individualism more linked to economic success • Collectivist ideals linked to other forms of wellbeing • There are trade offs for each pole in the continuum between individualism and collectivism • Within either culture there is a high degree of variability

9. Cultural Values and Cultural Practices • Cultural Complexes (Practices)—the intersection between the values and practices of a culture • Key practices related to values • Dating, courtship, marriage (USA/Palau) • Gendered practices in employment • Racial/ethnic practices in employment

10. Multicultural Societies and Communities • Typical drift: minority cultures move toward majority culture’ values and practices • Models of multicultural coexistence: • Assimilation: minority culture relinquishes its identity as it is absorbed into the dominant culture • Accommodation: minority culture adopts dominant culture’s practices in interaction with dominant culture but retains its own identity when operating independently of the dominant culture • Pluralism: each culture maintains its own practices and identities with cooperative and interdependent interactions in settings such as workplaces and schools.

11. Culture, Religion, and Adolescence • Religion and religious practices provide: • Guidelines for socialization through: • Self regulation • Role preparation • Sources of meaning • Structures for families’ activities • Participation in religious activities • Participation in rites of passage

12. Culture, Religion, and Adolescence • Religion and religious practices provide: • Protective factors for adolescents who have families with structure and common values to guide activities • Confounding factors: • Family organization and predictability • Joint activities with family • Common values and practices • Positive peer affiliations

13. Culture, Religion, and Adolescence • Cognitive Development and Religious Themes • The prediction is that as formal operations emerge, beliefs and values move from concrete ways of acting to more abstract concepts to impact source of meaning • Abstract and hypothetical thought can also pave the way for: • Questioning core beliefs • Identifying hypocritical actions by those in authority • Exploring alternative belief systems

14. Culture, Moral Development, and Adolescence • Focus in theories of development of moral reasoning is on the processes and criteria used to make decisions • Kohlberg: Based on justice and principled behavior • Preconventional Reasoning • Conventional Reasoning • Postconventional Reasoning • Critiques tend to be focused on masculine bias and justice focus instead of focusing on relationships

15. Culture, Moral Development, and Adolescence • Gilligan: Based on an ethic of care and relationships • Self care • other care • Self-other care from need • Critiques tend to be based on a similar gender bias • Subsequent studies suggest that males and females vary in their use of justice and care orientations and gender rather than sex seems relevant.

16. Culture, Moral Development, and Adolescence • Shweder—cultural perspective • Higher level moral reasoning can occur within the context of a particular cultural norm; • Everyday experiences are more indicative than hypothetical cases for assessing moral development • Concepts of “right” and “wrong” are rooted with a cultural milieu • Situational ethics are based on a particular religious or traditional focus

17. Culture, Moral Development, and Adolescence • Worldview perspectives (Jensen) • Worldviews are lens through which we view the world and make judgments • Jensen’s Codes • Ethic of autonomy • Ethic of community • Ethic of divinity • WorldviewMoral ReasoningMoral EvaluationMoral BehaviorModify Worldview

18. Culture and Political Thinking in Adolescence • Key factors in development across adolescence (Adelson’s work): • Cognitive development (immutable laws to a social constructivist view) • Movement away from authoritarian preference (consideration of interaction of individual with collective rights) • Ideological perspectives increase (focus on higher abstract principles)

19. Culture and Political Thinking in Adolescence • Political beliefs and political/civic activism • Adolescent disenchantment with status quo; • seeming unequal treatment • being held responsible for acting like an adult without adult privileges • Time of questioning (including religious, political, cultural tenets)

20. Culture and Political Thinking in Adolescence • Outcomes of political engagement: • Apathy/disengagement • Community Service • Civil disobedience • Civil unrest • Violent rebellion • Whether or not action is taken, it is typically a time for questioning (including religious, political, cultural tenets)

21. Discussion Questions for Culture • Think about your position on allowing homosexual marriages the same rights and status as heterosexual marriages. • What sources from culture informed your position? • What sources from culture might have informed those who hold the opposite view? • What are differences and similarities in the sources of the two views and how might they be resolved?