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18.1: Culture

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    228461
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    Community, Society, and Culture

    Culture is learned and socially shared, and it affects all aspects of an individual’s life. Social responsibilities, sexual expression, and belief-system development, for instance, are all likely to vary based on culture. Furthermore, many distinguishing characteristics of an individual (such as dress, employment, recreation, and language) are all products of culture.

    A native American ceremony with multiple participants - some playing on a drum
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Culture is learned and socially shared.[1]

    Many factors that shape child and adolescent development vary by culture.This is the reason why most of the topics discussed throughout the course have sections relating those to culture.

    In psychological studies, cross cultural aspects of research take generally two slightly different approaches. Many cross cultural studies talk about comparisons across different countries and international approaches. However, some studies are more ethnographic - meaning that they describe one culture in depth.

    For instance, the degree to which adolescents are perceived as autonomous, or independent beings varies widely in different cultures, as do the behaviors that represent this emerging autonomy. The lifestyle of an adolescent in a given culture is also profoundly shaped by the roles and responsibilities he or she is expected to assume. The extent to which an adolescent is expected to share family responsibilities, for example, is one large determining factor in normative adolescent behavior. Adolescents in certain cultures are expected to contribute significantly to household chores and responsibilities, while others are given more freedom or come from families with more privilege where responsibilities are fewer. Differences between families in the distribution of financial responsibilities or provision of allowance may reflect various socioeconomic backgrounds, which are further influenced by cultural norms and values.

    Adolescents begin to develop unique belief systems through their interaction with social, familial, and cultural environments. These belief systems encompass everything from religion and spirituality to gender, sexuality, work ethics, and politics. The range of attitudes that a culture embraces on a particular topic affects the beliefs, lifestyles, and perceptions of its adolescents, and can have both positive and negative impacts on their development.

    Attributions:

    Child Growth and Development by Jennifer Paris, Antoinette Ricardo, and Dawn Rymond, 2019, is licensed under CC BY 4.0

    [1] Image by Sgt. Matthew Coleman-Foster is in the public domain


    18.1: Culture is shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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