Exploring Cross-cultural Human Development

This publication by Harry W. Gardiner dives into various explorations by other authors on how truly distinct cultures are around the world. Yet, are somehow still interconnected to one another. But what exactly is cross-cultural human development? In this paper that question will be assessed. Along with other questions. Such as: viewing cross-cultural human development, what are the important themes within it, and naming as well as describing three developmental questions. They are key themes and concepts that were elucidated by important individuals, some of those themes include ecological model, developmental orientation, and suchlike. All of these psychologists used their perspective lens to create rooted debates on this subject matter for forthcoming generations.

Keywords: Culture(s), Explorations, interconnected, themes, debates, generations

Cross-cultural human development

As the world constantly evolves, society evolves with it. Within our large group that is society, we are always being introduced to nonidentical cultures who became a part of our society. They bring their own traditions, behaviors, values, food, music, and much more. Similar to our own culture. (Berry, Poordinga, and Pandey ,1997) provided a very thought out and explicit definition, in our book. Which I have to admit was pretty difficult for my comprehension. But once the context is broken down, it can be emphasized that cross-cultural human development is the restyling occurrences from the beginning of one’s life to the loss of life. That would also embrace certain etiquette’s that one has grown up with and would excel at. Due to the simple fact that they too mold with one's individuality.

Emergence Cross-cultural human development

There may not be a precise book date or year of when this topic became engaging to social scientist. But they have always kept in mind how crucial culture is itself because culture is us and we are culture, vise versa. Even when some were sightless to its importance. Gardiner mentioned how (Jahoda and Krewer(1997) proposed that it was along the seventeenth century, when this topic surfaced. This triggered one of the first book dated studies. As the years progressed, psychologist have narrowed their research and predominantly concentrated in what main factors are cross-cultural. Those including cognitive social, development, and abnormal psychology as (Jahoda, 2009) stated. Gardiner also expressed how all sciences have taken different routes, strategies, conducted procedures on this matter and yet have only peeled the top layer.

Themes of Cross-cultural human development

There have been a number of diversified theories that helped further understand cross-cultural human development and everything in bounded with it. Gardiner admitted that because there are so many, he focused on four prime models, if you will. Those being: ecological model, developmental niche, developmental orientation, and chronological-within-topics. The ecological model was presented by Urie Bronfenbrenner as early as 1975 all the way to 2005. He expressed that when you split a child’s environment into a logical process, it opens a wider window of clarification and one truly sees how the patterns inside of a family and society are influenced by. Therefore it sways the relationship on culture and development.This approach was a gateway into solving issues many societies around the world where facing or are still facing. The developmental niche was constructed on both Harkness and Super's studies and it piggybacks to what Bronfenbrenner presented. Essentially developmental niche is a shell for recognizing the many characteristics of culture and how it escorts the expansion procedure by centering its attention on the child and both their factors: social and cultural.

Themes of Cross-cultural human development(continued)

Developmental orientation is an approach that acknowledges that behavior is constantly advancing in all of the stages in our lives, not just in certain periods. “As children, we begin to think, attend, and store away memories…..we develop the ability to make inferences, understand reversibility…. Information that may have been remembered in childhood as a list can now be recalled in adulthood as a total pattern.”(Gardiner, pg. 8) This is an example Gardiner voiced and it seemed quite interesting. Because even as a child, your mind and conscious is already working toward creating your way of acting down the road and even those habits are prone to change. Which seems surreal in my personal opinion. Now we have the fourth approach, it being chronological- within- topics. That discusses that with a wide variety of subjects, it is necessary to narrow down to a small portion that have sufficient evidence that can be as useful to other research. In order to firmly grasp human stages of life, whether it being early-childhood, preteen years, or full adult life and how their behavior also enters into those different stages.

Developmental Questions

They are three developmental questions that weigh into cross-cultural human development debate as well. Those being: continuity vs. discontinuity, nature vs. nurture, and stability vs. change. Children do not become adults from one day to the next. There is a developmental process in place that can be witnessed. There are stages of growth that most children of a certain age can begin to do. Such as beginning to critically reflect, speak, and etc.There are two views that contrast in the way this occurs. The continuity view says that as they grow, it is more of a slow but constant measure. Similar to when you are going on a job, you are going at a specific rate. But the discontinuity view argues that biological and psychological changes may be a triggering factor (Mcleod. S, 2018) and as a result will not be constant. Similar to when you are walking up the stairs, you may slow down, speed up, or may suddenly stop and start again. Nature vs. nurture has its own relationship with human behavior and how it affects us. But there are far too many truths to what lies in each category and what lies in both. Nature is interior, our actual DNA that was created or passed down. That designs our physical looks and personality. While nurture is the exterior, that could be the environment we grew up in, childhood experiences, how we were raised, and the relationship we developed with other individuals, (Mcleod.S, 1970, 2018) Stability vs. change is a debate that argues the idea of an individual's personality features stay the same or change over time. The change viewpoint states that personalities are altered by the contact with relatives, occurrences in learning places, or the shifting of morals and customs from one group to another, (Mcleod.S, 1970)

Taking everything into account in what Gardiner wrote and the three developmental questions that researchers have created that are followed by many more. it can be inferred that the only true way to be triumphant is to merge minds and sciences and toil as one, for years to come. To accurately grasp what lies beneath the surface and continue to make historical evolution, (Pillemer and White’s, 2005) With the help of continuous inputs by others in how to be mindful of other cultural backgrounds. Social scientist will continue their journey in connecting the importance of cultures and how society is merged with it. As individuals we will continue embarking on our own voyage and maintaining these relationships with one another.

References

1. Gardiner , H. W. (2017, February 20). Lives Across Cultures . Retrieved September 27, 2019, from https://www.vaultebooks.com/books/9780134629841.
2. Mcleod, S. (2018). Nature vs. Nurture in Psychology. Retrieved September 27, 2019, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/naturevsnurture.html.
3. Mcleod, S. (1970, January 1). Developmental Psychology. Retrieved September 27, 2019, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/developmental-psychology.html.