Cultural Beliefs Chapter 4.ppt

Cultural Beliefs: Chapter 4 Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D. Dept. of Psychology University of West Florida Culture:  customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of : racial, religious, or other social group; characteristics features of everyday existence; set of shared values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, group, or organization Culture and Adolescence Developmental periods/stages are constructed within a culturally specific context Defines rules, responsibilities, benefits, and structures appropriate to the period of time we call adolescence Adolescence, for many cultures reflects a coming of age Provides specific rituals or rites of passage and specific practices in preparation for adult responsibilities and privileges Cultural Beliefs Norms, values, standards, and expectations a culture has generated for its participants In general, adolescents are unique in that their own values are moving toward those of adults in the culture Intergenerational transmission of beliefs about roles form coherence of society Changes in beliefs due to historical and individual events form basis for cultural evolution (e.g. Bandura) Socialization: Bringing Individuals into the Culture Self regulation—managing one’s behavior in a culturally appropriate way Role preparation—learning the prerequisites for assuming one or more roles as defined by cultural beliefs Sources of meaning—understanding the essence of human existence (mortality, evil/good, etc) Socialization: Bringing Individuals into the Culture Socialization is grounded in: religious, political, historical, familial, and individual dispositional factors Socialization is related to: age, sex/gender, social class, race, etc Learning one’s appropriate place in one’s culture is based on intentional and incidental learning. Cultural Values—Individualism/Collectivism Independent self—broad socialization: Focus is on being schooled to a broad set of norms within which one can choose; foc