Development Across Cultures

1. What is Bronfenbrenner's ecological model

Families in western backgrounds have little knowledge about other cultures, meaning the children lack empathy and understanding towards children of different races
All children are ecologically different due to their culture
Children are the centre of their own ecosystem, yet there are lots of factors which influence their life, like culture and family, which we must take into account when studying them
Children are genetically similar to their parents, meaning they are the only people they can truly identify with

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Collaboratively- Observed children from collectivist and individualist cultures in social interactions within school. Those from collectivist cultures are more outgoing and likely encourage team work
Ownership Reasoning- Two dolls took a walk together and ended up fighting over an object, children from different culture and family backgrounds were asked who owned the item. All children said the doll who created it or recognised it owned the item. Culture and socio-economic context both influence early ownership
Norms around sharing- In a sweets distribution one child could accept or reject the distribution. As children got older they rejected unfair offers when it disadvantaged them, In US, Canada and Uganda children rejected offers that advantaged them
Sharing and Family structure- Children from nuclear or extended families in India and England were asked if they would take all stickers or divide them equally. Interdependence priming only made children pro social if they came from and extended family

Methods and Tools- Often developed and validated within a single culture
Ethnocentric- Evaluating other cultures according to customs of one's own culture
Negative stereotype- If a child does not fit in with the stages
Biases- Research questions relevant to own cultural experiences, theories confirmed by those who share the same experiences

Chimapnzees and children observed a woman opening a puzzle box, the chimapnzee ignored actions that were unimportant, yet the children copied everything, prioritising social conventions over physical causality
Children imitation others to an extent where people become uncomfortable and withdraw from the child, shown through observations and self-report techniques
When children are given a subject they are interested, they will ignore the interests of others and talk to their peers about it none stop
If a child views a character they identify with in the media, they will internalise this character and believe they are them, changing their behaviour and interests to suit

Socially selective- Children imitate ingroup behaviour over outgroup
Socially sensitive- When using different measures, overimitation can be seen in many cultures
Maintenance- Children protest when the puppet fails to perform unnecessary actions
Demand characteristics- Only including unnecessary actions as the experimenter wants them to copy
Global Phenomenon- Overimitation is seen in many countries