Culture And Human Development

As intercultural encounters between people in the modern world become more common, important questions have been raised about the nature of culture-specific differences and similarities. Focusing on the relationship between culture and human development, this timely book offers an interdisciplinary exploration of key developmental processes. It combines psychological and sociological approaches with cross-cultural research to examine phenomena such as the transfer of culture between generations and the universality of attachment theory. Drawing on detailed research from a range of cultural groups, leading international researchers consider the impact of social change and modernization on the development of the individual and at the societal level. Theoretical and methodological issues are presented in terms of how to apply the results of cross-cultural research as well as recent empirical research done in specialized areas of the field. Finally, short-term intercultural exchanges are examined and used to suggest some of the potential practical uses of cross-cultural research for the future. This book will be essential reading for anyone studying or researching in cultural psychology, cross-cultural psychology, acculturation or behavioral development. It will also prove an invaluable source of information for anyone interested in sociology and the social sciences in general.

As intercultural encounters between people in the modern world become more common, important questions have been raised about the nature of culture-specific differences and similarities. Focusing on the relationship between culture and human development, this timely book offers an interdisciplinary exploration of key developmental processes. It combines psychological and sociological approaches with cross-cultural research to examine phenomena such as the transfer of culture between generations and the universality of attachment theory. Drawing on detailed research from a range of cultural groups, leading international researchers consider the impact of social change and modernization on the development of the individual and at the societal level. Theoretical and methodological issues are presented in terms of how to apply the results of cross-cultural research as well as recent empirical research done in specialized areas of the field. Finally, short-term intercultural exchanges are examined and used to suggest some of the potential practical uses of cross-cultural research for the future. This book will be essential reading for anyone studying or researching in cultural psychology, cross-cultural psychology, acculturation or behavioral development. It will also prove an invaluable source of information for anyone interested in sociology and the social sciences in general.

Three-year-old Kwara'ae children in Oceania act as caregivers of their younger siblings, but in the UK, it is an offense to leave a child under age 14 ears without adult supervision. In the Efe community in Zaire, infants routinely use machetes with safety and some skill, although U.S. middle-class adults often do not trust young children with knives. What explains these marked differences in the capabilities of these children? Until recently, traditional understandings of human development held that a child's development is universal and that children have characteristics and skills that develop independently of cultural processes. Barbara Rogoff argues, however, that human development must be understood as a cultural process, not simply a biological or psychological one. Individuals develop as members of a community, and their development can only be fully understood by examining the practices and circumstances of their communities.

A comprehensive synopsis of theory and research on human development, with every chapter drawing together findings from cultures around the world.

This major new textbook by Jaan Valsiner focuses on the interface between cultural psychology and developmental psychology. Intended for students from undergraduate level upwards, the book provides a wide-ranging overview of the cultural perspective on human development, with illustrations from pre-natal development to adulthood. A key feature is the broad coverage of theoretical and methodological issues which have relevance to this truly interdisciplinary field of enquiry encompassing developmental psychology, cultural anthropology and comparative sociology. The text is organized into five coherent parts: Part 1: Developmental theory and methodology; Part 2: Analysis of environments for human development Part 3:

These two volumes present the main contributions from the 29th International Congress of Psychology, held in Berlin in 2008, and are written by international leaders in psychology from around the world. The authors present a variety of approaches and perspectives that reflect cutting-edge advances in psychological science. Personality, Developmental, Social and Cultural Issues provides an overview of advances in several areas of psychology such as clinical, health, social, developmental, and cross-cultural psychology. One section of the volume is dedicated solely to emotions and health, and addresses state-of-the-art work on the regulation of self, health, social relations, and emotions such as passion. Other sections deal with development and personality issues as well as conceptual, cultural, and ethnic approaches to modern psychology. The global perspective of this collection illustrates research being undertaken on all five continents and emphasizes the cultural diversity of the contributors. This book will be an invaluable resource for researchers, professionals, teachers and students in the field of psychology.

The culmination of 15 years of research by a Turkish psychologist who was educated in the West, this volume examines both the theoretical and practical aspects of cross-cultural psychology. It takes a contextual-developmental-functional approach linking the child, family, and society as they are embedded in culture. A refreshingly different view, the author presents a portrait of human development from "the other side"--from the perspective of the "majority world." In a world seemingly dominated by American psychology, she proposes the cross-cultural orientation as a corrective to the culture-boundedness of much of Euro-American psychology. Analyzing human development in context while avoiding the pitfalls of extreme relativism, this work studies development with an inclusive, holistic, and ecological perspective, focusing on the development of the self and of competence. In so doing, it also attempts to combine cultural contextualism with universalistic standards and psychological processes. It proposes a theory of family change which challenges some commonly held modernization assumptions, and links theory and application while examining the role of psychology in inducing social change.

Reflecting author Çigdem Kagitçibasi's influential work over the last two decades, this new edition examines human development, the self, and the family in a cultural context. It challenges the existing assumptions in mainstream western psychology about the nature of individuals. The author proposes a new model — the "Autonomous-Related Self" — which expands on existing theory by demonstrating how culture influences self development. The development of competence is examined from a contextual perspective, with a view towards global urbanization which is creating increasingly similar lifestyles around the world. The implications of this perspective are discussed extensively, particularly early intervention policy implications related to promoting human competence in immigration and acculturation. Rich in both theory and application, each topic is introduced with a historical antecedent and earlier research before current work is discussed. This new edition also features: a new theoretical perspective that integrates cultural variation with universal human development trajectories in the context of social change, globalization, and immigration; two new chapters on "Parenting and the Development of the Autonomous Related Self" and "Immigration and Acculturation"; a more student-friendly approach with boxed stories, summary and main point reviews, discussion questions, and an extensive bibliography in each chapter; and a comprehensive glossary of all the book’s key terms for a quick reference. Intended as a graduate or advanced undergraduate level text for courses addressing cross-cultural psychology taught in a variety of departments including developmental, community, family, and educational psychology, this comprehensive volume will also appeal to researchers interested in issues of human development in a socio-cultural context.