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MiguelNila
English100
ProfessorOgbara
December12,2014
HumanDevelopmentandCulture
Howdoessocialcultureaffecthowhumansdevelop?Thisquestionhasseveral
partsfirstwemustdefineculture,therearemanydefinitionsofculturebutthiswillhavea
focusononedefinition.AccordingtothedictionaryMerriamWebstercultureisdefined
as,thequalityinapersonorsocietythatarisesfromaconcernforwhatisregardedas
excellentinarts,letters,manners,scholarlypursuits,etc.Withthisdefinitionwewillsee
howhumansareinfluencedinseveralstagesthroughouttheirlifetimes,aswellaswhat
thosechangeswere.Theexamplesincludedinthepaperarefromaroundtheworldgiving
severalexamplesacrossdifferentculturesandhoweachaffectthedevelopmentalprocess.I
willdividetheresearchintofoursectionsthefirstbeginningwithchildhood,leadinginto
adolescence,followedbyadulthood,andlastlyendingwitholdage.
Insomecultures,childhooddirectlyleadstoadulthoodwithouttransitionssuchas
thedevelopmentalstageofadolescence.(Roleofculture2011p.7)Withdifferent
culturestreatingchildrendifferentlyeachwillhaveaspecificeffectonchildrenandhow
theydevelop.Eachcultureassigningtheirowndevelopmentaltasksdifferingfromother
cultures.Ineachculturechildhoodisvieweddifferentlyandeachviewpointwillhavea

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differentimpact,inJapanchildrenareviewedasheavenlikeandevengodlike,whileon
theotherhandinwesternculturechildrenareviewedaslittleadultsresponsiblefortheir
ownactions.Eachmethodwillleadtovariantsinchilddevelopment.Thosewhoaremore
independentwillcontinuethatway,astheygrowtheywillbefurtherinstilledwithmoreof
thesame.Duringchildhoodacrossseveralculturesthereisatesttomeasureachild's
understandingofpeoplesbehaviorcalled,Theinferentialfalsebelieftest.Thetest
includesseveralcomponentssuchasemotion,intention,desire,andbelief.Childrenpass
thistestbyaccuratelypredictingtheactionsorthoughtsofprotagonistswith
realitydiscrepantbeliefsthatthechilddoesnotshareaccordingtoresearchwithinthelast
25yearsacrossseveralcultureschildrenareunabletopassthistestatagethree.Children
aretestedlateratages56,theresultsaresoscatteredacrossmanyculturesthatbythisage
theyhavealreadyadoptedthebeliefsoftheirindividualcultures.
Stillduringchildhoodtherewereteststakenfromages56amongsimilarculture
groups,suchasmiddleclassUnitedStatesandmiddleclassEnglandandothers,
communities
inwestAfrica,JapanandKorea.Withinthesesimilarculturesthereweredifferencesupto
2yearsastowhatagetheywouldpassthetest.Lookingmorecloselyattheresultsofthe
testcomparingtwocountriessuchaschinaandtheUnitedStatesbothchildrenpassedthe
sameamountofstepsduringthesameagesbutindifferentorders.Thistellsusthatwhile
therearedifferencesinculturetheyinvolvethesamefundamentalsbuteachinstilledin

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theiruniqueway.EAchcountryhascertainvaluestheyregardasmoreimportantthan
otherswhenteachingtheirchildren.Ifoundthatthemostimportantvaluesforthosein
childhoodtheunitedstatesareindividuality.Encouragingchildrentothinkforthemselves
developtheirownideasandopinions.OntheotherhandtheChinesemiddleclasschoose
tofocusonrespectandknowledgeofEldersandagrguidedbytheideasoftheirElders.
thisdifferenceinsocialculturebetweenearlyagesshowsthatculturedoeseffecthowwe
developaschildhoodisthemostimportanttimeindeveloping,butitdoesn'tstopthere,we
continuetodevelopespeciallyaswegrow.Withchildhoodprovidingthefoundation.
Thenextstepindevelopmentisadolescence,theperiodfollowingtheonsetof
pubertyduringwhichayoungpersondevelopsfromachildintoanadult,inthisstagewe
aremoresoinfluencedbyourculture.Adolescenceiswherethegapreallywidenswith
someculturalgroupsinwhatwouldbeknownasadolescencewouldbeskippedandwhen
physicallymaturewilltakeontherolesofanadultstillundertheguidanceoftheseadults,
whileinotherseducationenforcedduringadolescence.Withsomeculturesthisperiod
betweenchildhoodandadulthoodisextendedsuchasintheUnitedStatesandhaveeven
beenarguedtobeanewstageindevelopment.IntheUnitedStatesourculturehastoldus
thattobecomeadultswemustgothroughaperiodofindividualismandfindonesidentity.
However,crossculturalstudiesshowculturespecificrelationsbetweenparentsandtheir
adolescentchildren.Thismeansthatwhileotherstrytoseparatefromtheirparentsin
someculturestheyactuallybecomeclosertotheirparents,moreinvolvedinthefamily,

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especiallywithasianculturewheretheyadolescentsareexpectedtotakeoverfamily
affairs.
Alsoduringthetimeofadolescencebeliefisoneofthebiggestfactorsinfluencing
development.Beliefsandintroducedareintroducedearlierbutitisduringthis
developmentalstagewheretheycanchoosetotakeontheirparentsbeliefsordeveloptheir
own.InchinathedominantbeliefsareConfucian/Buddhist/communistwithmost
adolescentschoosingtotakeontheirparentsbeliefsbecausetherecultureinstillthe
importanceofrespectingeldersandthoseelderspreachtheseideas.Anothercountrythat

hasthesamebeliefsisIrandespitedifferentreligionseachculturevaluesinterdependence
andrespectofeldersaboveallelse.
ManyIranianparents,likeChineseparents,endorsecollectivistchildrearinggoals
(e.g.,bystronglyagreeingthatchildrenshouldconsidertheneedsofhisorherfamilyas
moreimportantthanhisorherown.InbothIranandChina,thereislikewiseawidely
sharedculturalemphasisonteachingchildrento(a)respecttheirelders,(b)defertheirown
viewsandwishestoparentalauthority,(c)avoidovertdisputationwithparentsandother
familymembers,and(d)curbindividualdesireswhentheseconflictwithfamilyneeds.
SharifzadehnotedthatmanyIranianparentsprefertoseetheirchildrengrowas
interdependentmembersofthefamilyratherthanasindependentindividuals(Cultureand
TheoryofMindSequencesp.1241).

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Thisapproachtomanagingtheirchildlifeisoneofthemostimportantwhenit
comestoculture.Whilesomeculturesvalueindividualismandbeingyourownperson
aboveallelseiffrowneduponinothercultures.Toleaveone'sparentsoreventodisagree
istobefrownedupon.TwodifferentcountrieslikeIranandChinawithsimilarbeliefsand
showthatgeographiclocationdoesnothaveanimpactondevelopmentbutthatthesocial
culturesandbeliefsshapeyoubeyondadolescence,peopleinthesecultureswillhavetheir
livescontrolledbyeldersandwillnotdevelopindividualism.
InsomeculturesAdulthoodisstillnotseenasindependentbutstillverymuch
involvedwiththefamily,insteadofmovingon.Intheunitedstates,Adulthoodisusually
characterizedbyestablishingafamily,takingresponsibilitiesasparents,andbecoming
activemembersofsociety.(RoleofCulturep.8)IntheUnitedStatesadulthoodisoften
achievedwhenyouhaveaplacetostayandasteadycareerofyourchoice.Whilealsoin
someothercultures,eventhecareersaredecidedforadults.Inotherculturestakingcareof
childrenisaroleforthemoreagedadults,whilethechildrenarestillyoung,inchinese
culturethegrandparentsoftentakethebabiesduringthefirstthreemonthstohelpthe
womengetbacktofullhealth.Anotherfactorinadulthoodisgender,incertainculture
yourgenderwilldeterminewhetherornotyouwillbesuccessfulorstayathomeinorder
tocareforchildren,withmalesasthebreadwinners.Thevaluesandbeliefsinstilledbythe
culturealsoplayanintricateroleincareers,ifyoudonothavecertainvalues,assimpleas
beingpoliteyouwillnotbeabletoworld.Thedifferencesingrowingupinothercultures

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comeintoplaywhenyoumoveintoaforeigncultureandlookforajob.Intheunitedstates
employerswilllookforemployeeswhoareindependentandcanworkwithoutsupervision.
Inchinesecultureontheotherhandamainfactorishowwellyouworkwithotherswithin
thecompany.
Oldageinculturesandwhatyoudodependsontheculture.Eveninoldageyouare
affectedbyyourculture,withallculturesvaluingelders.Butinsomeculturesthoughthose
intheiroldagearerespectedtheymaynotalwaysbeheardwhileinothersthoseintheir
oldageareseenasthemostwise,andotherscometothemforadviceandcounsel.
Eachculturewillshapetheirindividualsbuttheresisnoquestionthatthecultures
wegrowintoshapewhowebecome.Affectingusasearlyaschildhoodages3alltheway
untilwereachouroldage.Eachuniqueculturevaluingsomethingsoverothersbut
withoutculturewewouldnothavedevelopedintowhowearetoday.Yescultureisthe
mostinfluentialeffectinourlivesandevennoweachcultureischanging,sowhileculture
changeswewilleachdevelopintoourownminds.

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