Enculturation

Enculturation Definition

The process of becoming a member of one’s culture/learning the values and beliefs that are cared about/learning the norms and expectations and what role one should play in society

How enculturation happens

Direct tuition: when parents, teachers, or other members of one’s society explicitly teaches them certain beliefs, values or expected norms of behaviour

Participatory learning: engaging in activities which are meant to install certain values, beliefs and expectations

Observational learning: when a person identifies with a model and believes that imitating them will lead to positive outcomes/feeling capable to imitate behaviour

Odden and Rochat

A: role of observational learning (based on social cognitive theory) in enculturation in Samoa

P: observational longitudinal study/25 months/28 children in one Samoan village/adults have a non-interventionist approach to children/parents do not spend much time with children, believing that they can learn important skills and values on their own/observations made of children’s behaviour over 25 months/children completed a multiple choice test at the end/tested their knowledge of the values of Samoan society, including the Chief system

F: Children were not taught how to fish as the supply was limited/ children observed fishing/by 10, children borrowed fishing equipment/by 12, most were capable fishermen/multiple choice test demonstrated that most children had a basic understanding of the concepts, rites, rituals of society, including the Chief system/able to learn norms of culture by observing

C: observational learning plays a significant role in enculturation/possible for children to learn the values, norms and behaviours of their culture by observation and imitation

Evaluate Odden and Rochat

• Longitudinal design: researchers were able to observe children acquire new skills over the course of the study

• Only involved participants from one Samoan village: not certain that observational learning plays such a significant role in other cultures

• Observational study without standardised method for data collection: research bias