PSYO 321 Final Exam: Chapter 2

Culture:

the behaviour, patterns, beliefs, and all other products of a particular group of people that are passed on from generation to generation.

Ethnicity:

characteristics rooted in cultural heritage, including nationality, race, religion, and language.

Cross-cultural studies

Compare a culture with one or more other cultures, provide information about other cultures, and examine the role of culture in children’s development.

They provide information about the degree to which children’s development is similar, or universal, across cultures, or the degree to which it is culture- specific.

Individualistic

• Focuses on individual

• Self is determined by personal traits independent of groups; self is stable across contexts

• Private self is more important

• Personal achievement, competition, power are important

• Values: pleasure, achievement, competition, freedom

• Many casual relationships

• Independent behaviours: swimming, sleeping alone in room, privacy

Collectivistic

Focuses on groups

Self is defined by in-group terms; self can change with context

Public self is most important

Achievement is for the benefit of the in-group; cooperation is stressed

Values: security, obedience, in-group harmony, personalized relationship

Few, close relationships

Interdependent behaviours: co-bathing, co-sleeping

Immigration

Historically → Immigrant Risk Model (expected worse outcomes)

Research has shown → Immigrant Paradox (often better outcomes)

Socioeconomic status (SES):

The grouping of people with similar occupational, educational, and economic characteristics.

• Ethnicity and SES can interact in ways that exaggerate the negative influence of ethnicity.

• Ethnic minority individuals are overrepresented in the lower socioeconomic levels in our societies.

• Researchers must strive to separate the effects of SES from ethnicity.

• Being from a middle-SES background does not entirely protect youth from the problems of minority status.

Historical, economic, and social experiences produce

differences between ethnic minority and majority groups

Discrimination:

the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the groups of ethnicity, age, sex, or disability.

Prejudice:

an unjustified negative attitude toward an individual because of the individual’s membership in a group.

Children and adolescents from low-SES homes are at risk for

low achievement and emotional problems.

• Nevertheless, a sizable number are competent and perform well in school, often benefiting from parents, grandparents, and other adults who make special sacrifices that contribute to school success.

• Adolescents from affluent families also face challenges, such as substance abuse and adjustment difficulties.

Poverty

Living in poverty is a significant risk factor for healthy child development.

is linked to:

• poor health outcomes

• lower level of access to healthcare and social support services

• food insecurity

• family stress which, if excessive, can influence early brain development in children

Child Poverty in Canada at a Glance

In Canada, 1.3 million children live in conditions of poverty (that’s 1 in 5).

1 in 2 status First Nation children lives in poverty.

40% of Indigenous children in Canada live in poverty, and 60% of Indigenous children on reserves live in poverty.

More than one-third of food bank users across Canada were children in 2016.

About 1 in 7 of those using shelters in Canada are children.

Digital technology

On the positive side, it can provide extensive knowledge and can be used to enhance children’s and adolescents’ education.

One downside is that many youth are losing the ability to deeply process the information.

Screen Time

• There is no consistent research evidence that this immersion impairs thinking skills.

• There is, however, evidence suggesting that screen time on social media in particular may be negatively affecting mental and behavioural health.

• Because screen time is largely sedentary, there are concerns about physical health, including increased risk of obesity and disrupted sleep.

11- to 14-year-olds spend nearly

12 hours a day exposed to media.

• One longitudinal study found higher multitasking predicted attention problems.

• In another, the presence of phones during face- to-face interaction interfered with social engagement.

Screen Time Guidelines

Less than 2 years → Screen time not recommended

2 to 4 years → Under 1 hour a day

5 to 17 years → No more than 2 hours a day

Positive influences of TV:

• Motivating educational programs

• Information from outside of the immediate environment

• Models of prosocial behaviour

Negative influences of TV:

• Passive learning and homework distraction

• Stereotypes, violent models of aggression, and unrealistic views of the world

• Impacts on weight, eating habits, and sleep and wake-time habits.

Violent video games

especially those that are highly realistic, raise concerns about the effects on children and adolescents.

Children and adolescents who extensively play violent video games are more aggressive.

Playing video games is associated with some positive outcomes, however.

• Prosocial behaviours and improved visuospatial skills.

• Weight loss with video games requiring exercise.

Preschool children can learn from media with educational material, if:

• Effective strategies are used.

• Images and sounds attract young children’s attention

• Children’s voices are used rather than adult voices.

There are circumstances that immigrants face that challenge their adjustment

Language barriers, dislocations and separations from support networks, the dual struggle to preserve identity and to acculturate, and changes in SES.

Educators and counsellors need to adapt intervention programs to optimize cultural sensitivity.