PSC 140 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Parenting, African Americans, Menopause
Topics in Parenting: Part 1
● Culture: a variable, open, & dynamic system of ideas, values, actions & practices
○ Culture has a strong influence on our behavior & development
○ No matter the topic, culture has influence
■ Different definitions in different cultures
■ Ex: menopause had different definitions
○ Biological
■ Health, morbidity rates
■ Definitions of mental illness
○ Cognitive
■ Planning behaviors
■ Mathematical reasoning
○ motivation/ emotion
■ Concepts of
● self - deprecation (E - eastern cultures) vs. self - enhancement (W
- western cultures)
● Interdependence (E) vs. independence (W)
○ Interpersonal relationships
■ Degree of anticipatory management/ avoidance of conflict
○ Developmental
■ Attachment patterns
● Ex: kids in Japan often have more resistance attachment
compared to people in the US
■ Parenting goals
● Fit in with the group vs. being an individual
■ Parenting practices
● Cultural classifications
○ Many ways to classify cultures for the purposes of research
○ Traditional vs. industrialized
○ Individualist (IND) vs. collectivist (COL) cultures
■ AKA - independent vs. interdependent
○
● Not categorical - A continuum
○ Where do cultures lie on the IND - COL continuum?
■ West higher on IND & lower on COL
■ East opposite pattern
○ Can be variability within the same country
■ African - american: higher in IND, same on COL
■ Asian - americans: lower in IND, higher on COL
● Pattern strongest in East Asians (Chinese)
■ Latinos: same on IND, higher on COL
● These ways of viewing “self” have influence on parenting goals
○ Greater emphasis on building independence
■ Western
○ Greater emphasis on fitting in, building consensus & harmony
■ Eastern
○ Influences styles of interacting with & disciplining children, & learning
opportunities provided
● “Tiger Mother”
○ 2011 publication of memoir by Amy Chua (law professor at Yale)
■ Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
■ Highlighting differences between immigrant Chinese vs. Western
parenting
○ Received lots of attention in popular press
○ Debate about costs/ benefits of “harsh” vs. “lenient” parenting
Issues in Cross - Cultural Research
● Measurement issues
○ Operational definitions
■ Even for basic constructs can be difficult to define
● Does it mean the same thing across culture?
Document Summary
Culture: a variable, open, & dynamic system of ideas, values, actions & practices. Culture has a strong influence on our behavior & development. No matter the topic, culture has influence. Self - deprecation (e - eastern cultures) vs. self - enhancement (w. Degree of anticipatory management/ avoidance of conflict. Ex: kids in japan often have more resistance attachment compared to people in the us. Fit in with the group vs. being an individual. Many ways to classify cultures for the purposes of research. West higher on ind & lower on col. Can be variability within the same country. African - american: higher in ind, same on col. Asian - americans: lower in ind, higher on col. Latinos: same on ind, higher on col. These ways of viewing self have influence on parenting goals. Greater emphasis on fitting in, building consensus & harmony. Influences styles of interacting with & disciplining children, & learning opportunities provided.
