1. Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach Chapter 4
Cultural Beliefs
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

2. Chapter Overview Processes and outcomes of socialization
Defining cultural beliefs
Understanding the custom complex
Cultural beliefs in multicultural societies
Religious beliefs and cognitive development
Moral development theories and critiques
Political beliefs and socialization
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

3. Cultural Beliefs are…
(Shweder et al, 1998, p. 868)
Rooted in Symbolic Inheritance -- beliefs, “ideas and understandings, both implicit and explicit, about persons, society, nature and divinity”
Norms and moral standards that arise from these beliefs, ideas and understandings
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

4. Cultural Belief and Roles
Explain these pictures as examples of possible cultural roles...
Gender Roles
Age-related Roles
Social Status Roles
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

5. Quick Question: Cultural Roles
Why do adolescents become increasingly aware of their cultural roles and what is expected of them?
FLY-IN ANSWER!
Increasing cognitive capacities in adolescence (i.e., abstract thinking & self-reflection)
The transition to adulthood is approaching along with the need to adapt to adult role requirements
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

6. Socialization is…
The process by which people acquire the behaviors and beliefs of their culture
Socialization Outcomes
Self-regulation – ability to comply with social norms
2. Role preparation – for roles in work, gender, institutions such as marriage, parenthood
3. Cultivation of sources of meaning – “what’s important?” “What’s to be lived for?”
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

7. Discussion Stop
Why is adolescence such an important life period in relation to the three socialization outcomes? Discuss and explain.
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

8. Cultural Values Individualism Collectivism Independence
Self-expression
Broad socialization
“Western”
Obedience
Conformity
Narrow socialization
“Eastern”
Independent Self
Interdependent Self
Keep in Mind
-Cultures’ belief systems are not “pure types”
-There are individual differences in any culture
-Diversity also exists within individuals
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

9. Socialization: Broad & Narrow
Cultures define the range and focus of acceptable personal variation
Cultures differ in the degree of restrictiveness they impose
Narrow socialization is to collectivism as Broad socialization is to individualism
Keep in Mind…
Individualism-collectivism and Broad-Narrow are NOT meant to imply moral evaluations!
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

10. Socialization: Sources
Influence of friends, media, school, community, legal system increases
School
Workplace
Peers/Friends
Community
Cultural Belief System
Family
Media
Legal System
Influence of family diminishes in adolescence
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

11. Socialization Example: “The Law”
(Burbank, 1988)
Adolescent socialization amongst Australian Aborigines involves ritual teaching of a set of cultural beliefs known as “The Law”:
Moral precepts for conducting interpersonal relationships, e.g., marriage
Explanation for how the world began
Instructions for rites of passage
“The Law” is a set of guidelines about relations between individuals, society, and divine forces
“The Law” is premised upon collectivistic beliefs
Globalization has dramatically affected the relationship between adolescents and “The Law”
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

12. Socialization Example: “Middletown”
Study 1 – (Lynd and Lynd, 1929) Life in a typical American community
Study 2 – (Caplow et al, 1978) Same community, 50 years later
What can you say about trends in broad and narrow socialization in Middletown?
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

13. Discussion Stop
Discuss the examples of “The Law” and “Middletown” in terms of broad and narrow socialization and factors that influence changes?
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

14. Defining Custom Complex
“… customary practice and…the beliefs, values, sanctions, rules, motives and satisfactions associated with it” (Whiting & Child, 1953, p. 27)
1953
1998
Scholars place the custom complex at the center of cultural psychology, which examines human development from a perspective combining psychology and anthropology
Simply Put:
Typical practice in a culture and the
cultural beliefs that provide the basis for the practice
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

15. “Is it Ontogenic?” Is dating something that is “ontogenic?”
That is, do adolescents naturally begin dating when they reach a certain age?
Discuss in terms of the analysis of dating as custom complex.
As a class, generate other practices and decide whether they relate to a custom complex or if they are ontogenic in nature
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

16. Think about it… Living in America – Majority and Minority Cultures
Research has shown that cultural beliefs of American minority cultures tend to be less individualistic and more collectivistic than the beliefs of the American majority culture.
What happens when the socialization young people experience is not consistent across sources?
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

17. Discussion Stop
Consider Feldman’s study of adolescents living in the USA and Australia who have emigrated from China. How might the length of time lived in the new culture (i.e., first or second generation) influence cultural beliefs?
How do the results in the following slide compare?
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

18. Cultural Differences: Valuing Family as Residential Unit
The longer time in USA or Australia, the less the family is valued as the residential unit
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

19. Religious Beliefs are Cultural Beliefs
Virtually all cultures have religious beliefs of some kind
The content of cultures’ religious beliefs is diverse
Typically contain prescriptions for socialization – roles, self-regulation, sources of meaning
Typically specify a code for behavior
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

20. Religious Beliefs & Cognitive Development
Fowler’s Stage
(1981, 1991)
Age
Poetic-conventional faith
Early adolescence
Awareness of symbolism
Individuating-reflective faith
Late adolescence/ emerging adulthood
Question beliefs, incorporate personal experiences,
Develop individualized faith
Caveat – Fowler’s theory is based on American majority
culture and individualistic values
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

21. Discussion Stop
Is it possible to apply Fowler’s theory of changes in religious beliefs in adolescence to the beliefs and practices of Muslim adolescents with respect to Ramadan?
Read Pages of your text for background
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

22. Discussion Detour
Industrialized countries tend to be more secular (based on non-religious beliefs).
Why do you think Americans generally are more religious than people in other industrialized countries?
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

23. Moral Development (Piaget)
Piaget observed children play games and practiced and discussed rules.
Two Stages Based on cognitive development:
Heteronomous Morality (ages 4-7)
“You can’t change the rules! The rules were made by my Mother!”
Autonomous Morality (reached at age 10-12)
“I dropped the glass by accident, that wasn’t as bad as when Julie tore up her book because she was mad.”
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

24. Moral Reasoning (Kohlberg)
Kohlberg presented his participants with hypothetical moral dilemmas, asked them to make a judgment and explain their reasons for their decision.
Whether a person judged the actions of the main character in the dilemma as right or wrong was not important. Rather, his* reasoning for the judgment was key to determining stage of moral reasoning.
*Note: Kohlberg’s research began with a study of 72 boys
aged 10, 13, and 16.
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

25. Moral Reasoning Stages (Kohlberg)
Level & Stages
Description
Example
Preconventional
Includes Stages 1 and 2
Based on perceptions of likelihood of external reward or punishment
Stage 1 “He shouldn’t steal because he’ll go to jail.”
Stage 2 “He should steal because he needs the money.”
Conventional
Includes Stages 3 and 4
Right is what agrees with rules established by tradition and authority
Stage 3 “He shouldn’t steal because good sons don’t do that.”
Stage 4 “He shouldn’t steal because if everyone steals there will be chaos.”
Postconventional
Includes Stages 5 and 6
What is right is derived from universal principles
Stage 5 “He should steal because laws need to be changed to reflect peoples’ basic rights.”
Stage 6 “He shouldn’t steal because the universal principle of ownership must be primary over an individual’s needs.”
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

26. Gender Critique (Gilligan)
Male (Autonomy) vs. Female (Relationship)
Morality of Justice vs. Morality of Care
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

27. Constructing Ideas
Consider Shweder’s Cultural Critique of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development pointing out a bias toward Western Individualism.
If you were a researcher studying moral development, how would you design a research project that would address this critique. Look at the examples of research in your textbook for ideas (e.g., Walker and colleagues 1999 study of moral reasoning and real-life dilemmas).
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

28. Worldviews Approach Jensen (1997, 2000, 2003); Shweder et al, (1997)
Set of cultural
beliefs
Prescribed by
Moral judgments;
reinforce world view
Explanations for
why an action is
right or wrong
Judgments as to
whether an action
is right or wrong
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

29. Worldviews Approach: 3 “Ethics”
Autonomy
Community
Divinity
Individual is primary moral authority having right to do as they wish as long as their behavior does no harm to others
Responsibilities of roles in family, community are basis for moral judgments
Individual is a spiritual entity subject to the prescriptions of a divine authority
Research shows! Emerging adults in the USA rely especially on the Ethic of Autonomy
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

30. Political Beliefs (Adelson)
Adelson’s (1971, 1991) Hypothetical Dilemma:
“Imagine that a thousand men and women, dissatisfied with the way things are going in this country, decide to purchase and move to an island in the Pacific where they must devise laws and modes of government.”
Considering the results discussed in Chapter 4, discuss how this dilemma may be resolved by:
Middle school students (ages 12-14) in America
Emerging adults in China
Adolescents aged in Great Britain
Use your own examples to highlight issues in the research
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.