The chapter \u2018Culture and Development\u2019 starts with a brief introduction of the typical theories of development and moves towards ecobiocultural framework that introduces the idea of how culture is a product of ecology, biology and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When studying Bowlby\u2019s attachment theory in Developmental Psychology, I had a question in my mind: How can this theory be relevant in all cultures? This question is thought-provoking because Bowlby\u2019s theory does not consider cultures where there are multiple caregivers. For example, in Pakistani culture, joint family system is common where the child grows up with multiple caregivers like aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When referring to the cultural model of development, psychological autonomy, and hierarchical relatedness are important concepts for understanding development. Still, the chapter could have included other cultural models to provide a more comprehensive view of the diversity in developmental practices. For example, hybrid approaches would be common in urbanized communities in collectivist cultures where parents combine elements of autonomy and relatedness by encouraging children to pursue higher education while expecting them to stay interconnected with familial relations. Other than this, some communities might prioritize motor skill development (e.g. working in fields for farming communities) over verbal or cognitive skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding this week\u2019s article, cultural models significantly influence children\u2019s developmental trajectories. The German children and Nso children differed in self-regulation abilities due to factors like parenting style, cultural models of development (autonomy versus relatedness) etc. This concludes that including diverse cultural samples in developmental research is crucial to avoiding biases, especially in the WEIRD context mentioned in the chapter. I think future research should conduct longitudinal studies to see the possible developmental outcomes of self-regulatory competencies among these children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While reflecting on this chapter, I found myself wondering about the idea of cultural ambiguity, especially in the context of globalization. In urbanized or immigrant communities, children can often feel a contradiction between two or more cultural models. For example, in my city Islamabad, many families move from remote areas to the capital city; the children are taught to be autonomous in the school environment (making personal choices or expressing opinions) while they are expected to show relatedness in the home environment. This can get confusing for the children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, this also makes me think that autonomy or relatedness can be found in both individualist and collectivist cultures, just in different forms. For example, in the USA, autonomy would mean prioritizing personal interest over societal norms whereas, in Japan, autonomy could involve fulfilling responsibilities within a group setting or making decisions in the favor of the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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