During the first two years of life children actively begin to explore their environment. The caretaker must encourage their exploration. The emotional bond between child and caretakers that allows children to feel secure and to know to whom they can trust and turn to in a threatening situation. Harlow argues that the social interaction that takes place within a secure infant-caretaker relationship is necessarily for the development of healthy social behavior. Caretaker-child interactions and relationships are influenced by the environment in which they take place. The process of attachment over the first two years appears to be similar across different cultures.
2. Conceptualize patterns of social relationships throughout the lifespan as changing aspects of the ecological system.
When children pass the stage of infancy, they begin to develop social relationships that extend beyond caretakers and the family. 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. 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. 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.
The moral development theory states that children begin to understand how to relate to others in socially desirable ways. As they acquire the foundations of moral reasoning and behavior, they begin to understand concepts such as right and wrong. Moral development progresses in stages, each stage representing more mature reasoning about moral thought and conduct. 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. 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.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the underlying cultural factors that lead to different values applied to social behavior.
Arnett states that the socialization of adolescents is largely influenced by factors other than family and peers within the microsystem. The larger cultural influences include school, community, legal system, cultural beliefs, and the media. 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.