HDF 610
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HDF 610: Child Development in Cultural Context, Fall 2015
Jonathan Tudge
Stone 246, Tuesdays, 9.00-11.50
Office: 155 Stone. Email: jrtudge@uncg.edu
We could cover a huge amount of material in a class focusing on children’s development in cultural context.
This semester we’re going to be focusing on several closely related aspects. First, we’ll consider the fact that
our theorizing and empirical research in psychology (which has been studied, and therefore, by implication,
human development and family studies, counseling, education, etc., which I’m not sure have been) is
incredibly limited, focusing on weird people in a weird society (see Henrich et al., 2010). Second, those who
study “non-weird” populations have, for many years, examined these populations’ child-rearing values—
focusing in particular on the dimension individualism–collectivism (see, e.g., Hofstede, 2001; Triandis,
2001). Third, we’ll examine the critique made by scholars such as Kağitçibaşi (2009) and Keller (2012), but
also critique this critique. Finally, we’ll consider SES and racial/ethnic variations within the United States.
Required book: APA (2009), Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.).
Washington, DC: APA. Required papers are to be found on Canvas (everything in the “files” folder).
Course requirements
1. Paragraphs and questions. Every week you need to produce a paragraph (maximum of 150 words) and
one question on the reading(s) for that week. If two or more papers are assigned, your paragraph must be
based on all papers. Your lowest score will not be counted—that means that you can either skip one week or
drop your lowest score. The paragraphs need to present what you think is an important concept or issue
about which the author(s) wrote, and why you think it is important. You are welcome either to defend or
critique the concept or idea in your paragraph. You also need to formulate a question for discussion about
each of the papers. Each question (which will not be graded) should focus on something you feel is
important but isn’t clear and that would benefit from discussion. You need to use APA style, including title
page, appropriate headings and running header and page numbers, appropriate quotations and/or citations,
references, etc. If you need help on any of these, you’ll need to refer to the APA Publication manual, 6th
edition. The paragraphs need to be sent as an email attachment to jrtudge@uncg.edu by 9 a.m. on Monday
(a point will be removed for each hour late). The paragraphs are worth 40% of your final grade. Do not
plagiarize (see the following page).
Each of the paragraphs will be graded using the following rubric:
Excellent
Good
Weak
Nonexistent
Major idea You chose an
A central idea or
You chose an unimportant
Nonexistent, or
important concept
concept, but you
issue to write about and/or
plagiarized. (0)
and nicely explained didn’t explain its
didn’t explain it well, or
its importance, or
importance well, or a summarized. (1-3)
critiqued it well. (7marginal idea, well
8)
explained. (4-6)
APA and
Writing fully
Writing either partly
The writing only partly
grammar
conforms to APA
conforms to APA
conforms to APA norms and
norms and there are
norms or there are
there are many
almost no
many typographical
typographical or
typographical or
or grammatical
grammatical errors (0)
grammatical errors.
errors. (1)
(2)
Grades for each of the paragraphs (including related questions) will be: A = 9-10; B = 7-8; C = 5-6; D = 0-4.
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2. Discussion. This class is largely based around discussion that is heavily based on the readings. You are
therefore expected to contribute, in appropriate ways, to this discussion, for example by asking questions,
raising issues, making counter arguments, defending your ideas, and so on, primarily basing your arguments
on what you have read in this class. When your question is being discussed, you need to be prepared to lead
the discussion (start by explaining why you asked the question). I will send all questions to everyone in the
group (I’ll try by 5 p.m. on Mondays), and you’re expected to have read, and thought about, everyone’s
questions, prior to class, as this will help the discussion.
Please take into account that discussion is not a competitive endeavor; you will actually be marked down for
being disrespectful to others, or by talking too much (making it difficult for others to talk). Greater
understanding of the issues will come about more easily by being mutually supportive. Contribution to the
discussion is required, so come prepared to make your contribution. Discussion is worth approximately
10% of your final grade. Essentially what that means is that consistently providing appropriate, thoughtful,
and helpful contributions to class discussion will mean that your final grade (as determined by your
paragraphs and final paper) will be increased (for example, from B+ to A-, or A- to A). Dominating
discussions, being disrespectful to others, or not adding in helpful ways to discussion will lead to your final
grade being decreased.
3. Final paper. A final paper should cover some aspect of children’s and/or adolescents’ development in
cultural context. You may choose to cover children’s or adolescents’ development in one specific cultural
group or you may focus on a particular issue that’s relevant to the study of culture. If you would like to
receive feedback on your proposed topic, you need to get me a “paragraph of intent” with a maximum of 250
words, describing your plans. You should provide a proposed reference list as well. This is due no later than
Monday, November 2. The final paper is worth 50% of your final grade.
Be careful not to plagiarize, using someone else’s words as your own. Note that slightly modifying the
original words (changing a word here or there, leaving out a clause from a sentence, etc.) still constitutes
plagiarism. Sometimes this happens by chance if you take fairly extensive notes on some text, and then
simply use those words in your own paper—but it is still plagiarism. If you use an author’s words you
must put them in quotation marks and cite your source (author’s name, date, and page number), and if
you summarize you must also cite your source (author’s name and date only). Plagiarism is a serious
issue. The minimum penalty, for a first offence, is F on the assignment, and a report filed with the
appropriate office on campus.
Calendar
August 18: Introduction to the semester
August 25: The United States is NOT the world
Arnett, J. J. (2008). The neglected 95%: Why American psychology needs to become less American.
American Psychologist, 63(7), 602-614.
Tomlinson, M., & Swartz, L. (2003). Imbalances in the knowledge about infancy: The divide between rich
and poor countries. Infant Mental Health Journal, 24(6), 547–556.
Tudge, J. R. H., & Freitas, L. B. L. (2012a). Internationalization, globalization and culture. Psicologia e
Sociedade, 24(3), 547–556.
September 1: How weird are we?
Henrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010). The weirdest people in the world? Behavioral and Brain
Sciences, 33(2–3), 61–135. [Note: You only need to read to pp. 61–83; the remaining pages feature
commentaries, which are also interesting but not essential reading]
September 8: No class (I’m at a conference)
September 15: Individualism–collectivism as a way to categorize cultures
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Triandis, H. C. (2001). Individualism-collectivism and personality. Journal of Personality, 69(6), 907–924.
September 22: Individualism–collectivism, continued
Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing cultures: The Hofstede model in context. Online Readings in
Psychology and Culture, 2(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1014
Hofstede, G., Garibaldi de Hilal, A. V. Malvezzi, S., Tanure, B., & Vinken, H. (2010). Comparing regional
cultures within a culture. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 41(3), 336–352.
September 29: Moving beyond individualism–collectivism
Kağitçibaşi, C. (2009). Parenting and the development of the autonomous-related self. In C. Kağitçibaşi,
Family, self, and human development across cultures: Theory and applications (2nd Ed., pp. 165–203).
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
October 6: Turkey
Kağitçibaşi, C., & Ataca, B. (2005). Value of children and family change: A three-decade portrait from
Turkey. Applied Psychology: An International Review 54(3), 317–37.
October 13: No class
October 20: Cultural variations within the United States
Strauss, C. (2000). The culture concept and the individualism–collectivism debate: Dominant and alternative
attributions for class in the United States. In L. P. Nucci, G. B. Saxe, & E. Turiel (Eds.), Culture, thought,
and development (pp. 85-114). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Tamis-Lamonda et al. (2008). Parents’ goals for children: The dynamic coexistence of individualism and
collectivism in cultures and individuals. Social Development, 17(1), 183–209. doi: 10.1111/j.14679507.2007.00419.x
October 27: Cultural variations within the United States, continued
Coon, H. M., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2001). Cultural orientations in the United States: (Re)examining
differences among ethnic groups. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32(3), 348-364.
November 2: Paragraph of Intent due (optional)
November 3: Multiple cultures
Keller, H. (2012). Autonomy and relatedness revisited: Cultural manifestations of universal human needs.
Child Development Perspectives, 6(1), 12–18
Kärtner, J., Keller, H., Lamm, B., Abels, M., Yovsi, R. D., & Chaudhary, N. (2007). Manifestations of
autonomy and relatedness in mothers’ accounts of their ethnotheories regarding child care across five
cultural communities. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 38(7), 613-628.
November 10: Kenya and Mexico
Wilson, S. M, & Esteinou, R. (2011). Transitions from collectivistic to individualistic family systems: Kenya
and Mexico. Revista de Investigación Social, 9, 83-107.
November 17: China
Chen, X, Bian, Y., Xin, T., Wang, L., & Silbereisen, R. K. (2010). Perceived social change and childrearing
attitudes in China. European Psychologist, 15(4), 260–270.
November 24: Brazil
Tudge, J., Martins, G., Merçon-Vargas, E., Dellazzana-Zanon, L., & Piccinini, C. (in press). Children,
families, and communities in Brazil: A cultural-ecological approach to child-rearing values and practices.
In M. Fleer & B. von Oers (Eds.) International handbook on early childhood education. New York:
Springer. [Paper will be in Canvas by the start of November…if you remind me!]
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December 2: Your paper is due by 9 a.m. on Tuesday, December 2; one grade removed for every day (or part
of a day) late.