Transcript Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural

Adolescence and
Emerging Adulthood: A
Cultural Approach
Chapter 4
Cultural Beliefs
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Chapter Overview
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Processes and outcomes of
socialization
Defining cultural beliefs
Understanding the custom complex
Cultural beliefs in multicultural
societies
Religious beliefs and cognitive
development
Moral development theories and
critiques
Political beliefs and socialization
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Cultural Beliefs are…
(Shweder et al, 1998, p. 868)
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Rooted in Symbolic Inheritance -beliefs, “ideas and understandings,
both implicit and explicit, about
persons, society, nature and divinity”
Norms and moral standards that
arise from these beliefs, ideas and
understandings
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Cultural Belief and Roles
Explain these pictures as examples of possible
cultural roles...
Gender Roles
Age-related Roles
Social Status Roles
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Quick Question: Cultural Roles
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Why do adolescents become
increasingly aware of their
cultural roles and what is
expected of them?
FLY-IN ANSWER!
•Increasing cognitive capacities in adolescence (i.e., abstract thinking
& self-reflection)
•The transition to adulthood is approaching along with the need to
adapt to adult role requirements
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Socialization is…
The process by which people acquire the
behaviors and beliefs of their culture
Socialization Outcomes
1. Self-regulation – ability to comply with social norms
2. Role preparation – for roles in work, gender,
institutions such as marriage, parenthood
3. Cultivation of sources of meaning – “what’s
important?” “What’s to be lived for?”
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Discussion Stop
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Why is adolescence
such an important
life period in relation
to the three
socialization
outcomes? Discuss
and explain.
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Cultural Values
Individualism
Independence
Self-expression
Broad socialization
“Western”
Independent
Self
Collectivism
Obedience
Conformity
Narrow socialization
“Eastern”
Interdependent
Self
Keep in Mind
-Cultures’ belief systems are not “pure types”
-There are individual differences in any culture
-Diversity also exists within individuals
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Socialization: Broad & Narrow
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Cultures define the range and focus
of acceptable personal variation
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Cultures differ in the degree of
restrictiveness they impose
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Narrow socialization is to collectivism
as Broad socialization is to
individualism
Keep in Mind…
Individualism-collectivism and Broad-Narrow are
NOT meant to imply moral evaluations!
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Socialization: Sources
Influence of friends,
media, school,
community, legal system
increases
School
Peers/Friends
Workplace
Community
Media
Family
Cultural
Belief
System
Legal
System
Influence of
family
diminishes in
adolescence
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Socialization Example: “The Law”
(Burbank, 1988)
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Adolescent socialization amongst Australian Aborigines
involves ritual teaching of a set of cultural beliefs known as
“The Law”:
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Moral precepts for conducting interpersonal
relationships, e.g., marriage
Explanation for how the world began
Instructions for rites of passage
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“The Law” is a set of guidelines about relations between
individuals, society, and divine forces
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“The Law” is premised upon collectivistic beliefs
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Globalization has dramatically affected the relationship
between adolescents and “The Law”
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Socialization Example: “Middletown”
Study 1 – (Lynd and Lynd, 1929) Life in a typical American community
Study 2 – (Caplow et al, 1978) Same community, 50 years later
What can you say about trends in broad and narrow
socialization in Middletown?
80
60
Loyalty to church
40
Strict obedience
Independence
20
Tolerance
0
1928
1978
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Discussion Stop
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Discuss the examples of
“The Law” and
“Middletown” in terms
of broad and narrow
socialization and factors
that influence changes?
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Defining Custom Complex
1953
“… customary practice and…the
beliefs, values, sanctions, rules,
motives and satisfactions
associated with it” (Whiting &
Child, 1953, p. 27)
1998
Scholars place the custom complex
at the center of cultural
psychology, which examines
human development from a
perspective combining psychology
and anthropology
Simply Put:
Typical practice in a culture and the
cultural beliefs that provide the basis for the practice
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
“Is it Ontogenic?”
Is dating something that is “ontogenic?”
That is, do adolescents naturally begin
dating when they reach a certain age?
Discuss in terms of the analysis of dating
as custom complex.
As a class, generate other practices and
decide whether they relate to a custom
complex or if they are ontogenic in nature
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Think about it…
Living in America – Majority and
Minority Cultures
Research has shown that cultural
beliefs of American minority
cultures tend to be less
individualistic and more
collectivistic than the beliefs of the
American majority culture.
What happens when the socialization
young people experience is not
consistent across sources?
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Discussion Stop
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Consider Feldman’s study
of adolescents living in the
USA and Australia who
have emigrated from China.
How might the length of
time lived in the new
culture (i.e., first or second
generation) influence
How do the results
cultural beliefs?
in the following
slide compare?
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Cultural Differences:
Valuing Family as Residential Unit
The longer time
in USA or
Australia, the
less the family
is valued as the
residential unit
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Religious Beliefs are Cultural Beliefs
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Virtually all cultures have religious
beliefs of some kind
The content of cultures’ religious
beliefs is diverse
Typically contain prescriptions for
socialization – roles, self-regulation,
sources of meaning
Typically specify a code for behavior
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Religious Beliefs &
Cognitive Development
Fowler’s Stage
Age
(1981, 1991)
Poetic-conventional faith
Early adolescence
Awareness of symbolism
Individuating-reflective faith
Late adolescence/
emerging adulthood
Question beliefs, incorporate personal experiences,
Develop individualized faith
Caveat – Fowler’s theory is based on American majority
culture and individualistic values
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Discussion Stop
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Is it possible to apply
Fowler’s theory of changes
in religious beliefs in
adolescence to the beliefs
and practices of Muslim
adolescents with respect to
Ramadan?
Read Pages 117-118 of
your text for background
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Discussion Detour
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Industrialized countries
tend to be more secular
(based on non-religious
beliefs).
Why do you think
Americans generally are
more religious than people
in other industrialized
countries?
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Moral Development (Piaget)
Piaget observed children play games and
practiced and discussed rules.
Two Stages Based on cognitive development:
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Heteronomous Morality (ages 4-7)
“You can’t change the rules! The rules were made by
my Mother!”
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Autonomous Morality (reached at age 10-12)
“I dropped the glass by accident, that wasn’t as bad as
when Julie tore up her book because she was mad.”
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Moral Reasoning (Kohlberg)
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Kohlberg presented his participants with
hypothetical moral dilemmas, asked them
to make a judgment and explain their
reasons for their decision.
Whether a person judged the actions of
the main character in the dilemma as
right or wrong was not important. Rather,
his* reasoning for the judgment was key
to determining stage of moral reasoning.
*Note: Kohlberg’s research began with a study of 72 boys
aged 10, 13, and 16.
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Moral Reasoning Stages (Kohlberg)
Level & Stages
Description
Example
Preconventional
 Includes Stages
1 and 2
Based on
perceptions of
likelihood of
external reward or
punishment
Stage 1 “He shouldn’t steal because
he’ll go to jail.”
Conventional
Includes Stages
3 and 4
Right is what agrees
with rules
established by
tradition and
authority
Stage 3 “He shouldn’t steal because
good sons don’t do that.”
Postconventional
Includes Stages
5 and 6
What is right is
derived from
universal principles
Stage 5 “He should steal because laws
need to be changed to reflect peoples’
basic rights.”
Stage 2 “He should steal because he
needs the money.”
Stage 4 “He shouldn’t steal because if
everyone steals there will be chaos.”
Stage 6 “He shouldn’t steal because
the universal principle of ownership
must be primary over an individual’s
needs.”
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Gender Critique (Gilligan)
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Male (Autonomy) vs. Female (Relationship)
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Morality of Justice vs. Morality of Care
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Constructing Ideas
Consider Shweder’s Cultural Critique
of Kohlberg’s theory of moral
development pointing out a bias toward
Western Individualism.
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If you were a researcher studying
moral development, how would you
design a research project that would
address this critique. Look at the
examples of research in your textbook
for ideas (e.g., Walker and colleagues
1999 study of moral reasoning and reallife dilemmas).
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Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Worldviews Approach
Jensen (1997, 2000, 2003); Shweder et al, (1997)
Prescribed by
Moral judgments;
reinforce world view
Judgments as to
whether an action
is right or wrong
Set of cultural
beliefs
Explanations for
why an action is
right or wrong
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Worldviews Approach: 3 “Ethics”
Autonomy
Individual is
primary moral
authority having
right to do as
they wish as
long as their
behavior does
no harm to
others
Community
Responsibilities
of roles in
family,
community are
basis for moral
judgments
Divinity
Individual is a
spiritual entity
subject to the
prescriptions of
a divine
authority
Research shows! Emerging adults in the USA rely
especially on the Ethic of Autonomy
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Political Beliefs (Adelson)
Adelson’s (1971, 1991) Hypothetical Dilemma:
“Imagine that a thousand men and women,
dissatisfied with the way things are going in this
country, decide to purchase and move to an island
in the Pacific where they must devise laws and
modes of government.”
Considering the results discussed in Chapter 4, discuss how
this dilemma may be resolved by:
-Middle school students (ages 12-14) in America
-Emerging adults in China
-Adolescents aged 16-18 in Great Britain
-Use your own examples to highlight issues in the
research
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.