1. Chapter 3
Enculturation
© 2013 Cengage Learning

2. Outline Humans Engage in Cultural Learning
Enculturation and Socialization
Culture, Parenting, and Families
Whiting and Whiting’s Six Cultures Study
Diversity in Parenting as a Function of Economics
Parenting Goals and Beliefs
Global Parenting Styles

3. Outline (cont’d.) Culture, Parenting, and Families (cont’d.)
Parenting Behaviors and Strategies
A Domain-Specific Approach to Parenting
Siblings
Extended and Multigenerational Families
Culture and Peers
Exposure to Peer Groups
Peers and Bullying

4. Outline (cont’d.) Culture and Education Putting it All Together
Cross-National Differences in Math Achievement
Social and Cultural Factors That Influence Math Achievement
Summary
Putting it All Together

5. Humans Engage in Cultural Learning

6. Humans Engage in Cultural Learning
Unique human ability to engage in shared intentionality allows for "cultural learning“
Learning not only from others but through others
Michael Tomasello studies:
Children understand intentionality, social learning, and communication more complexly than great apes
Social learning and communication provides foundation for cooperation with other humans
Only humans are capable of creating culture

7. Enculturation and Socialization

8. Enculturation and Socialization
Constant across cultures: people wish to become competent, productive adults
Different across cultures: meaning of "competent" and "productive”
Culture must be learned with practice through prolonged process
Socialization: process by which we learn and internalize rules and patterns of society
Enculturation: process of youngsters learning and adopting ways and manners of their culture

9. Source: Santrock, J. W. (2007). Child Development. Eleventh edition
Source: Santrock, J. W. (2007). Child Development. Eleventh edition. NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

10. Culture, Parenting, and Families

11. Culture, Parenting, and Families
Family: most important microsystem to child’s development
Margaret Mead: by observing parents we are observing essence of a culture
Study of parenting within cultural context tells us what is important to that culture

12. Whiting and Whitings’ Six Cultures Study
Anthropologists collected field data in Mexico, India, Kenya, USA, Okinawa, and Philippines
Major focus: examine child rearing and children's behavior in varied cultural contexts
Child’s behavior and personality is intimately connected to characteristics of broader ecology
Women's work roles contribute to children's social behaviors

13. Diversity in Parenting as a Function of Economics
Diverse economic conditions produce socialization processes that vary across cultures
Caregiving environment reflects set of goals ordered in importance:
Physical health and survival
Promotion of behaviors leading to self-sufficiency
Behaviors that promote other cultural values, i.e. prestige

14. Parenting Goals and Beliefs
Parenting goals provide motivation and framework for raising children
Parenting goals lead to variations in parenting behaviors across cultures
Parental ethnotheories: parental cultural belief systems
Parents’ cultural belief systems motivate and shape what parents think is “right” way to parent

15. Global Parenting Styles
Authoritarian parents: expect unquestioned obedience; child needs to be controlled
Permissive parents: warm and nurturing; allow children to regulate own lives with few guidelines
Authoritative parents: sensitive to child's maturity; firm, fair, reasonable and affectionate
Uninvolved parents: do not respond appropriately to children; indifferent

16. Parenting Behaviors and Strategies
One of most representative cultural differences in parenting behaviors is sleeping arrangements
Studies using HOME Inventory describe three general areas in which cultures vary:
Warmth and responsiveness
Discipline
Stimulation/teaching
Parenting beliefs and practices are congruent with developmental goals dictated by culture

17. A Domain-Specific Approach to Parenting
Criticism of global parenting: ignores differences due to particular child, situation, and context
Domain-specific approach:
Focuses on parenting behaviors rather than general styles
Emphasizes complexity of socialization process
Domains include: protection, control, reciprocity, guided learning, and group participation
Parenting practices must be appropriate for domain in which child is functioning

18. Siblings Siblings play important role in socialization of children
Siblings can fulfill many roles: tutors, buddies, playmates, caretakers
Skills important to culture are learned from siblings: perspective-taking, social understanding, conflict negotiation
Repeated and prolonged interaction means older siblings can be influential role model to younger siblings

19. Extended and Multigenerational Families
Extended families: members other than parents and children (aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents)
Multigenerational families: grandparents in addition to parents and children or just children
Extended- and multigenerational-family child rearing is integral part of enculturation process
Extended and multigenerational families have in common sharing of resources, emotional support, and caregiving

20. Culture and Peers

21. Culture and Peers Postfigurative cultures (culture change is slow):
Socialization occurs primarily by elders transferring their knowledge
Cofigurative cultures (culture change is quicker):
Adults socialize their children, but peers play a greater role in socializing each other
Prefigurative cultures (culture change is rapid):
Culture is changing so rapidly that young people may be the ones to teach adults

22. Exposure to Peer Groups
Cultures vary in exposure that children have to peer groups
Industrialized countries: children spend significant amount of time with same-aged peers
Solitary farm settlements: children will have limited options to interact with wide range of playmates
Hunting and gathering society: children may be socialized by multiple-age peers

23. Peers and Bullying Three criteria of bullying
Intentional physical or psychological harm
Based on a power imbalance between the bully and victim
Repeated over time
Rate of bullying varies across cultures
Cross-national comparisons may be problematic if cultures define bullying in different ways

24. Culture and Education

25. Culture and Education
Educational system is single most important formalized mechanism of instruction in many societies and cultures
Most think that country's educational system is solely an institution that teaches thinking skills and knowledge
Educational system is most important institution that teaches and reinforces cultural values

26. Cross-National Differences in Math Achievement
Math and culture have a very special relationship
Stigler and Baranes (1988): math skills “…forged out of a combination of previously acquired (or inherited) knowledge and skills, and new cultural input"
Culture is not only a stimulator of math, but is itself represented in math, and how a society teaches and learns it

28. Social and Cultural Factors That Influence Math Achievement
Language
School systems
Parental and familial values
Teaching styles
Teacher-student relationships
Attitudes and appraisals of students

30. Summary
Cross-national differences in academic achievement not due to biological differences
Many social and cultural factors play a role:
Economics
Geography
Resources
Cultural values and beliefs
Abilities and experiences
Language
Family dynamics

31. Putting it All Together

32. Putting it All Together
Each culture's way of raising children represents culture's way of ensuring values and norms are transmitted to children
Practices are ritualized to transmit information from generation to next generation
Contemporary theories: children's active processing of information results in reproduction of culture and production of new elements