Child Development: A Cultural Approach – Chapter 2 Comprehensive Notes
Historical Conceptions of Development
Four classic cultural-historical schemes illustrate how people have long divided the life span, foreshadowing modern developmental stage theories.
Ancient Hindu view (Dharmashastras)
Life divided into 4 stages, each lasting 25 years (total life span conceptualized as 100 years).
Childhood has further substages marked by rituals (e.g., first head-shaving ceremony symbolizing entry into a new, purified phase).
Ethical emphasis: progress through stages meant fulfilling one’s dharma (duty) in both family and society.
Ancient Greek view (Solon, 638–558 BCE)
Human life segmented into 10 periods of 7 years.
First 3 periods (birth to 21) labeled as times of immaturity and learning; adulthood begins only after full social training.
Provides an early prototype for the “seven-year rhythm” still referenced in some educational philosophies.
Ancient Jewish view (Talmud, written ≈1500 years ago)
Prescribes ideals at specific ages: e.g., Bar/Bat Mitzvah at 10–13 (moral accountability), readiness for marriage/work by 18–20, and pursuit of vocation after 30.
Emphasizes instruction (literal meaning of “Talmud”)—life progress is both spiritual and practical.
Medieval European view (revival in 14^{th} century)
Infantia: 0–7; Pueritia: 7–14; Adolescentia: 14–21.
Blurred boundary for the end of adolescence (debated then as now).
Conclusions across the four traditions
Each uses culturally specific markers (rituals, legal milestones, work roles).
Common themes: Limited attention to early childhood psychology; adolescence framed as preparation for adult duties.
Developmental Stages in Three Traditional Cultures
Shared insight: People are seen as qualitatively different from one stage to the next; terms for stages carry explicit role expectations.
Gusii (Kenya)
Infancy (birth–2): constant maternal care.
Middle childhood (~6): children herd cattle, care for siblings.
Adolescence: initiation rites at 9 (girls) and 12 (boys) marking biological and social puberty.
Marriage: girls ~15, boys 25–30 → transition to full adulthood.
Trobriand Islanders (Papua New Guinea)
0–4: intensive doting.
4 to puberty: extended play period.
Adolescence: leisure, sanctioned romantic/sexual exploration.
Young adulthood begins at marriage (timing negotiated, often following long courtship).
Maya (Yucatán, Mexico)
Infancy: mother, sisters, grandmothers provide care.
Middle childhood: gender-specific chores (boys in fields, girls in household crafts).
Adolescence: cross-sex socializing discouraged; courtship arranged via intricate rituals lasting up to 2 years.
Synthesis for science
Stage labels correspond to shifts in responsibility, agency, and permissible behavior.
Highlights need for context-sensitive theories that do not impose Western milestones universally.
Psychosocial Theory (Erik Erikson)
Core premise: Development driven by quest for social integration within cultural context.
Epigenetic principle: Each stage built on resolution (or non-resolution) of previous crises.
First five stages (lifespan model totals 8):
Trust vs. Mistrust (Infancy, 0–1): secure attachment vs. fear.
Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt (Toddlerhood, 1–3): self-control vs. over-dependence.
Initiative vs. Guilt (Early Childhood, 3–6): purposeful action vs. inhibition.
Industry vs. Inferiority (Middle Childhood, 6–12): competence in cultural skills vs. feelings of inadequacy.
Identity vs. Identity Confusion (Adolescence, 12–19): coherent self vs. role diffusion.
Significance: integrates cultural expectations (e.g., schooling) into psychological growth, bridging Freudian intrapsychic focus with sociological factors.
Cognitive-Developmental Theories
Jean Piaget’s Stage Model
Qualitative shifts in thinking (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational).
Driving mechanisms:
Maturation (biologically programmed neural growth).
Active construction of schemes—mental structures for organizing reality.
Processes: assimilation (fit new info into existing scheme) and accommodation (modify scheme).
Implication: Cannot simply teach a 1-year-old tasks requiring the scheme maturity of a 4-year-old (principle of readiness).
Learning Theories
Behaviorism (Watson, Skinner)
Newborn is a tabula rasa; behavior shaped via conditioning.
Social Learning Theory (Bandura)
Observational learning: children imitate models who are rewarded/not punished.
Adds cognition—children evaluate consequences (Social-Cognitive extension).
Educational takeaway: Modeling prosocial behavior + reinforcing desired actions promote development.
Biological Theories
Evolutionary Psychology
Traits like language reflect adaptive pressures; e.g., Bayesian word-learning: children compute statistical regularities.
Behavior Genetics
Partition variance in traits into genetic, shared environment, non-shared environment components (e.g., h^{2} heritability estimates).
Gene–environment interaction/epigenetics: environments influence gene expression.
Neuroscience
Brain plasticity greatest in early life, but continues lifelong; environmental enrichment/poverty can alter neural circuits.
Contextual Theories
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems
5 nested systems:
Microsystem (family, school).
Mesosystem (relations among microsystems).
Exosystem (indirect institutions—parent’s workplace).
Macrosystem (cultural values, laws).
Chronosystem (time & historical changes).
Developmental Systems Theory (Lerner)
Individual⇄context co-actions across life; child as active agent; rejects deterministic one-directional causality.
Cultural Theories
Three critiques/points
Research biased toward majority-culture, Western samples.
Classic theories underplay cultural shaping.
Judging minority practices by majority standards leads to deficit framing.
Emphasis on cultural relativism: Behaviors must be interpreted within local values (e.g., cooperation = intelligence in Zambia).
Family Context
Form exists universally, but structure/function shift historically:
1800: family performed educational, religious, medical, economic, recreational, affective roles.
2000: schools, churches, healthcare, employers, entertainment industry now handle many functions; affective care remains.
Extended families common in traditional cultures; nuclear in industrialized societies.
Friends, Peers, Romantic Partners
Peers: share status (age, grade); salient from toddlerhood.
Friends: mutual affection; becomes crucial in middle childhood/adolescence.
Romantic partners: introduce intense emotion + sexuality; cultural norms dictate timing and acceptable behavior.
School as Developmental Context
Formal schooling starts earlier (often
5 years).Academic success linked to later socioeconomic outcomes.
Global inequalities: developed vs. developing nations, and intra-nation disparities.
Work
Developed countries
Legal minimum work age 15; about 50\% of U.S. teens hold part-time jobs, primarily for discretionary spending.
Developing countries
95\% of employed 5–17-year-olds live here.
70\% of that employment classed as child labor—economic necessity overrides schooling.
Media
Diffusion: spread of TV, Internet, mobile technology mapped globally.
Children as “digital natives”: screen time now a major environmental input affecting cognition, socialization.
Civic & Religious Institutions
Civic engagement: volunteering, political activism; shaped by governance structure (e.g., democratic vs. authoritarian regimes).
Religiosity
Almost universal in traditional cultures; U.S. unusually high among developed nations; African American youth especially involved.
Developmental Questions and Debates
Early Experiences
Sensitive periods: windows of heightened neuroplasticity; deprivation here → long-term deficits.
Children as Active Agents
Bidirectional effects: child temperament influences parenting, which feeds back into child behavior.
Child-selected niches intensify with age (e.g., choosing friends, extracurriculars).
Stage vs. Continuity
Empirical data show gradual change, but cultural staging persists for social organization.
Nature vs. Nurture
Historic pendulum: Freud (intrapsychic, maternal blame) → Watson (environmental control) → modern interactionism.
Diversity vs. Universals
Research now balancing species-wide patterns (e.g., language acquisition) with culturally unique pathways (e.g., Gusii initiation rites).
Integrated Takeaways for Exam Preparation
Recognize interplay among biological maturation, environmental contexts, and cultural meaning systems.
Be able to match theorists to core concepts (Erikson—psychosocial crises; Piaget—schemes & stages; Bandura—observational learning; Bronfenbrenner—nested systems).
Use traditional culture examples to critique Western-centric assumptions (e.g., adolescence not universally leisure-oriented).
Apply sensitive period concept to real-world issues (orphanage deprivation, language acquisition windows).
Articulate how digital media layer onto Bronfenbrenner’s exosystem and macrosystem.