Early attachment is basically the emotional bend between the child and their caretaker that allows them to feel secure. The process of attachment is similar across cultures for the first two years of life, but as the child grows culture plays a larger role in the social development. At about seven to nine months, children acquire object permanence, or recognition that objects/persons continue to exist even when they can't be seen. Development is dependent on what is the environment the child lives in. Relationships and types of attachments are dependent on cultural influences.
2. Conceptualize patterns of social relationships throughout the lifespan as changing aspects of the ecological system in which social development takes place.
Patterns of social relationships occur in sequences throughout life. The patterns begin in the first two years of life similarly across cultures. Attachment occurs in all parent/child relationships in some form. Thus, the microsystem is the most influential to a developing child's life. Attachment in some cases can be interpreted as social behavior, and over the first year, can account for drastic changes. Object permanence occurs in all children in the first year of life, and as children begin to communicate, they continually look for a caretaker's response. Differences in these social relationships depend on the environment in which they take place. These changes depend on caretaker characteristics as well as cultural differences.
3. Compare and contrast theories of social development e.g. psychosocial development, moral development, and social identity development) and discuss their cultural implications.
Psychosocial development focuses on the growth of normal personality development with an emphasis on cultural and the socialization of children. In this theory, life presents itself with various crises that need to be solved for development to take place. Moral development suggests that there are specific stages that represent a sophisticated introduction toward justice and moral principles. Social identity is the "part of an individual's self concept which derives from his knowledge of his membership of a social group together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership. Culture effects this concept because it is the position of the ethnic group that holds the larger society together and helps define the individual.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the underlying cultural factors that lead to different values applied to social behavior.
Cultures that have no commonly accepted belief systems value "free-self expression." Because there is no specific belief, the culture of the family is the sole determinant of values. Cultures such as this are characterized by broad socialization. Narrow socialization on the other hand is a culture with strict sets of ideologies that set forth a basis for right and wrong behavior. Since these cultures value conformity, values are taught early and quickly. Behaviors in this case will be much different than those of the non-conformity belief systems.
5. Comment on cultural influences on parent-child relationships.
Culture plays a large role in relationships between parents and children basically because culture determines what is and is unacceptable in certain situations or, it determines various sleeping, eating, and other life experiences. If the culture has an emphasis on family interaction and interdependency, there is likely to be more attachment and close relationships between children and their parents. The same idea applies the other way as well. If the culture stresses dependency, there is a higher chance that the parent-child relationship will be on a more individualistic level.