Cross-cultural developmental comparisons: The case of Japanese-American infant and mother activities and interactions. What we know, what we need to know, and why we need to know

Stability of child temperament: Multiple moderation by child and mother characteristics

This 3-wave longitudinal study focuses on stability of child temperament from 3 to 6 years and considers child age, gender, birth order, and term status as well as mother age, education, anxiety, and depression as moderators of stability. Mothers of approximately 10,000 children participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children rated child temperament. Stability coefficients for child temperament scales were medium to large, and stability was generally robust across moderators except child gender and birth order and mother age and education, which had small moderating effects on reports of stability of child temperament. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Some is known about the stability of temperament in infancy in small samples, but much less is known about the stability of temperament in early childhood or its moderation. What does this study add? This study uses a large sample (˜10,000) to trace the stability of temperament from 3 to 6 years in three waves and considers child age, gender, birth order, and term status as well as mother age, education, anxiety, and depression as moderators of stability.

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Infant Fear

Cross-cultural investigations addressing the development of individual differences are important because these speak to the generalizability of results and the extent to which the development of temperament and personality differs by culture. The present study was aimed at comparing manifestations of fear, defined in infancy as startle or distress to sudden changes in stimulation (e.g., facial/bodily expressions of fear), and inhibited approach to novelty (e.g., escape/avoidance), for samples from Spain ( n = 51) and the United States ( n = 102). We obtained data from mothers of U.S. and Spanish infants at 12 months of age, also observing these babies in the context of a structured laboratory procedure designed to elicit fearful reactivity. Data reduction efforts produced coherent observation-based fearfulness constructs for both groups, and individual indicators were also examined. Significant differences between U.S. and Spanish infants for the observation-based fear composite and component indices of distress vocalizations, bodily fear, and escape intensity, but not for the parent-report of this attribute, were demonstrated. A significant culture-by-gender interaction emerged for the laboratory-based fear composite and the intensity of facial fear indicator, wherein Spanish female infants exhibited higher intensity of expression, relative to the U.S. counterparts.

The Socialization of Autonomy and Relatedness

Despite documented cross-cultural variability in autonomy and relatedness, relatively little is known about how these characteristics of self are socialized. This study, a secondary analysis (Dennis et al., 2002), explored this question by examining sequential verbal exchanges between Japanese and U.S. mothers and children during play and a challenging wait ( N = 60, M age = 55.8 months, SD = 4.9). The likelihood that mothers would contingently encourage child autonomy or relatedness by matching, responding positively, or reducing directives was tested. There was greater encouragement of relatedness among Japanese mothers but few cultural differences in encouraging autonomy. Effects depended on the context of interaction, with greater cultural differences during the challenging wait. Culturally distinct gender effects also emerged: U.S. mothers bolstered girls' autonomy and showed consistent encouragement of boys' relatedness whereas Japanese mothers bolstered autonomy in boys only. Implications for cross-cultural patterns in the socialization of self are discussed.

Concepts of Adaptive and Maladaptive Child Behavior

Maternal concepts of desirable and undesirable child characteristics were compared across two contrastive cultures: Japan and the United States. Sixty mothers of preschool-age children, half from Japan and half from the United States, were asked to describe the behavioral characteristics they found most desirable and undesirable in young children and to choose one characteristic in each list that they considered most highly positive or negative. In describing positive characteristics, mothers in both cultures tended to emphasize social cooperativeness and interpersonal sensitivity. However, concerns about positive emotional adjustment were more salient among U.S. than Japanese mothers. Comparisons of negative behaviors revealed striking cultural contrasts. U.S. mothers were far more likely than Japanese mothers to designate aggressive and disruptive behaviors as negative, whereas Japanese mothers tended to highlight social insensitivity and uncooperativeness. Moreover, qualities of emotional maladjustment were described by U.S. mothers, but did not appear in the Japanese protocols.

Cultural and Parenting Cognitions in Acculturating Cultures

This longitudinal study evaluated prediction and coherence in cultural (acculturation, individualism, collectivism) and parenting cognitions (attributions, self-perceptions, knowledge) in 86 Japanese American and South American acculturating mothers. Mothers' cultural cognitions when their infants were 5 months old predicted some parenting cognitions 15 months later, particularly among Japanese American mothers. Coherence among mothers' attributions obtained in both cultural groups when their infants were both 5 and 20 months of age and among Japanese American mothers' self-perceptions of parenting at both time periods. Although a few relations across types of parenting cognitions were found, domains of parenting cognitions were relatively independent. This study provides insight into the nature and structure of cultural and parenting cognitions in two U.S. acculturating groups.

Parental Values and Practices Relevant to Young Children’s Social Development in Taiwan and the United States

Self-reported parental values and child-rearing practices, and teacher-reported and observed children’s social skills, were compared among families of 40 preschool and kindergarten children in each of three cultural groups: Chinese in Taiwan, first-generation Chinese in the United States, and European Americans in the United States. As expected, both samples of Chinese parents more strongly endorsed traditional Chinese values and exerted more parental control over their children than did American parents. Observations of child social competence during a videotaped family interaction revealed no significant differences among the three ethnic groups. Ratings of parental directiveness and warmth during the videotaped family interaction showed that Chinese American parents, as compared to European American parents, were rated as significantly more directive but equally warm.

Emotion Regulation in Early Childhood

The purpose of this study is to analyze toddlers’ regulation of negative emotions in two cultures. A general sequential model of emotion regulation is specified that takes emotional reaction, goal-directed behavior strategies, and the interactive process between child and mother into account. Two-year-old Japanese ( n = 20) and German ( n = 20) girls and their mothers were observed in a quasi-natural interaction in which the girls experienced a playmate’s distress (the mothers were present). The features of the sequential model were measured. Mothers’ sensitivity was assessed in a structured mother-child interaction. The sequential model was confirmed for the German sample and modified in regard to the regulation of distance for the Japanese sample. The Japanese mothers displayed more sensitive and contingent behavior. Culture-specific differences in regard to the distribution of children’s regulation patterns and qualities of mother-child interactions demonstrate the effects of different socialization practices with respect to socioemotional development.

Form and Function: Implications for Studies of Culture and Human Development

Understanding of activity and its meaning is viewed through the prism of context. A given activity often has the same meaning in different contexts, but one activity can also have different meanings across contexts. Conversely, different activities can have different or similar meanings depending on context. A prime context for discussing relations between activity and meaning-that is, between form and function-is culture. Flexible relations between activity and meaning are examined in a unified conceptual scheme, and they are illustrated with phenomena from culture and human development. The heuristic value of this perspective and its implications for studies of culture and human development are also considered.

Language and Play at One Year: A Comparison of Toddlers and Mothers in the United States and Japan

The present study compared American and Japanese toddlers and their mothers on dimensions of language and play when the toddlers were 13 months of age. In both cultures and in both domains, individual variation in toddlers was associated with individual variation in mothers. In general, the frequency and variance of language and play activities were similar in the two groups. However, two notable cultural differences emerged. American toddlers were more advanced in both their productive and receptive vocabularies, and this cultural difference was matched by the tendency for American mothers to label and desciibe properties, objects, and events in the environment more frequently. In contrast, Japanese toddlers were more advanced on symbolic play, and their advanced play was matched by more advanced play in Japanese mothers, particularly for "other-directed" acts of pretence. These findings suggest that during this early period of symbolic development, as expressed through language and play, American and Japanese dyads emphasise different modes of representation and do so in ways that accord with traditional cultural concerns.

Childrearing Patterns in Japan and the United States: A Cluster Analytic Study

To investigate cultural and individual differences in early socialisation patterns, middle class mothers of 3-to 6-year-old children from Japan and the United States (n = 282) completed a recently developed and validated parenting questionnaire. Results showed that mothers from the United States expected their children to follow more rules than did Japanese mothers, but also reported giving children more input into the socialisation process. Mothers from the United States reported responding more often to child misbehaviour with material/social consequences. Japanese mothers made many fewer demands at this early age, reported being less nurturant, and were more likely to report reasoning with and scolding their child. However, Japanese were more likely than U.S. mothers to report using physical punishment in situations where the child showed disrespect for adult authority. Cluster analyses revealed childrearing patterns similar to Baumrind's (1967) authoritative, permissive, and authoritarian styles among the mothers from the United States and predominantly indulgent and strict styles among the Japanese. The Westernisation of Japanese childrearing practices was evident upon inspection of the cultural make-up of the parenting clusters. Although less than 5% of U.S. mothers showed a Japanese child-rearing style, nearly one-quarter of the Japanese mothers showed a "U.S." style—generally either permissive or authoritative.

Mother and Infant Activity and Interaction in Japan and in the United States: I. A Comparative Macroanalysis of Naturalistic Exchanges

It is widely held that Japanese and U.S. Americans differ in prominent aspects of their psychological make-ups, and that experiences of early life may be responsible for certain social and intellectual distinctions between members of these two cultures. To compare and contrast activities and interactions of Japanese and American mothers and their 5-month-old infants, 48 mother-infant dyads, half in Tokyo and half in New York City, were observed in the natural setting of their homes. This report examines mothers visual and verbal stimulation of infants and infants visual and tactual exploration and vocalisation from a macroanalytic viewpoint. First, similarities and differences among Japanese and American infants and mothers on these activities are assessed. Next, covariation among infants activities and among mothers activities within each culture is evaluated, and resultant patterns of covariation between the two cultures are compared. Finally, correspondence between mothers and infants activities in each culture is analysed, and patterns of interactions between the two cultures are compared. Two issues are discussed. First considered are the identification and description of activities, interactions, and developmental processes that are similar and different in these two cultures, and second considered are cross-cultural tests of developmental issues related to covariation and correspondence of activity in mother-infant dyads.

Mother and Infant Activity and Interaction in Israel and in the United States: A Comparative Study

Activities and interactions of Israeli and US mothers and their 5-month-old infants were observed in the natural setting of their homes. This report examines infant visual and tactual exploration and vocalisation as well as maternal stimulation and speech. First, similarities and differences in activities between Israeli and US infants and mothers are assessed. Next, coherence in infant activities and in maternal activities within each society are evaluated, and resultant patterns of coherence between the two societies are compared. Last, correspondences between infant and maternal activities in each society are analysed, and resultant patterns of mother-infant interactions between the two societies are compared. Identification and description of activities, interactions, and developmental processes which are similar and different in comparable segments of Israeli and US society are discussed, and crosscultural tests of developmental issues related to coherence and to correspondence of activity in mother-infant dyads are evaluated. Israeli and US mothers may follow culture-specific paths in striving to meet infants' needs and in achieving socialisation goals.

Mother and Infant Activity and Interaction in Japan and in the United States: II. A Comparative Microanalysis of Naturalistic Exchanges Focused on the Organisation of Infant Attention

This study compares and contrasts activities and interactions related to maternal organisation of infant attention toward mother and toward the environment in Japanese and U.S. American mother-infant dyads. Observational data derived from 48 Tokyo and New York City mothers and their 5month-old infants seen at home were submitted to microanalysis. Relations among selected mother and infant activities, notably maternal control of and responsiveness to attentional focus in infants, are evaluated using cooccurrence and lag-sequential analyses. American and Japanese mothers and babies engaged in most activities at similar rates. However, American mothers appear to respond to environmental involvement in their infants by further encouraging infants to attend to properties, objects, or events in the environment, whereas it is during periods of decreased environmental interest and increased social interest that Japanese mothers deploy didactic encouragement. The results reveal activity and interaction patterns which are similar between these two cultures, as well as patterns which are culturespecific.

Mother and Infant Activity and Interaction in France and in the United States: A Comparative Study

Infants experiences are often thought to influence social and intellectual development in the individual, and on a societal level they are sometimes credited for some of the distinctiveness that typifies cultural style. To compare and contrast the experiences of French and U.S. American infants, mother-infant dyads in Paris and in New York City were observed interacting in the natural setting of their homes. This report focuses on infants' visual attention, tactual exploration, and vocalisation and on mothers' mediated and unmediated stimulation and speech to infants. The study had two main goals: One was to identify and describe activities and interaction patterns that may be similar and different in these two Western cultures, and the other was to test the cross-cultural validity of a hypothesis that states that specific mother and infant activities relate to one another in dyadic interaction. Mothers and infants in the two cultures showed some similarities and some different emphases in their activities, and patterns of mother-infant interaction in the two cultures tended to correspond.

Genetic mechanisms of parenting

This article is part of a Special Issue "Parental Care". The complexities of parenting behavior in humans have been studied for decades. Only recently did we begin to probe the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying these complexities. Much of the research in this field continues to be informed by animal studies, where genetic manipulations and invasive tools allow to peek into and directly observe the brain during the expression of maternal behavior. In humans, studies of adult twins who are parents can suggest dimensions of parenting that might be more amenable to a genetic influence. Candidate gene studies can test specific genes in association with parental behavior based on prior knowledge of those genes' function. Gene-by-environment interactions of a specific kind indicating differential susceptibility to the environment might explain why some parents are more resilient and others are more vulnerable to stressful life events. Epigenetic studies can provide the bridge often necessary to explain why some individuals behave differently from others despite common genetic influences. There is a much-needed expansion in parenting research to include not only mothers as the focus-as has been the case almost exclusively to date-but also fathers, grandparents, and other caregivers.

Mother-Infant Contingent Vocalizations in 11 Countries

Mother-infant vocal interactions serve multiple functions in child development, but it remains unclear whether key features of these interactions are community-common or community-specific. We examined rates, interrelations, and contingencies of vocal interactions in 684 mothers and their 5½-month-old infants in diverse communities in 11 countries (Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, and the United States). Rates of mothers' and infants' vocalizations varied widely across communities and were uncorrelated. However, collapsing the data across communities, we found that mothers' vocalizations to infants were contingent on the offset of the infants' nondistress vocalizing, infants' vocalizations were contingent on the offset of their mothers' vocalizing, and maternal and infant contingencies were significantly correlated. These findings point to the beginnings of dyadic conversational turn taking. Despite broad differences in the overall talkativeness of mothers and infants, maternal and infant contingent vocal responsiveness is found across communities, supporting essential functions of turn taking in early-childhood socialization.

Infant temperament: stability by age, gender, birth order, term status, and socioeconomic status

Two complementary studies focused on stability of infant temperament across the 1st year and considered infant age, gender, birth order, term status, and socioeconomic status (SES) as moderators. Study 1 consisted of 73 mothers of firstborn term girls and boys queried at 2, 5, and 13 months of age. Study 2 consisted of 335 mothers of infants of different gender, birth order, term status, and SES queried at 6 and 12 months. Consistent positive and negative affectivity factors emerged at all time points across both studies. Infant temperament proved stable and robust across gender, birth order, term status, and SES. Stability coefficients for temperament factors and scales were medium to large for shorter (< 9 months) interassessment intervals and small to medium for longer (> 10 months) intervals.

Baby, you light-up my face: culture-general physiological responses to infants and culture-specific cognitive judgements of adults

Infants universally elicit in adults a set of solicitous behaviors that are evolutionarily important for the survival of the species. However, exposure, experience, and prejudice appear to govern adults' social choice and ingroup attitudes towards other adults. In the current study, physiological arousal and behavioral judgments were assessed while adults processed unfamiliar infant and adult faces of ingroup vs. outgroup members in two contrasting cultures, Japan and Italy. Physiological arousal was investigated using the novel technique of infrared thermography and behavioral judgments using ratings. We uncovered a dissociation between physiological and behavioral responses. At the physiological level, both Japanese and Italian adults showed significant activation (increase of facial temperature) for both ingroup and outgroup infant faces. At the behavioral level, both Japanese and Italian adults showed significant preferences for ingroup adults. Arousal responses to infants appear to be mediated by the autonomic nervous system and are not dependent on direct caregiving exposure, but behavioral responses appear to be mediated by higher-order cognitive processing based on social acceptance and cultural exposure.

Judgment of infant cry: The roles of acoustic characteristics and sociodemographic characteristics

Adult judgments of infant cry are determined by both acoustic properties of the cry and listener sociodemographic characteristics. The main purpose of this research was to investigate how these two sources shape adult judgments of infant cry. We systematically manipulated both the acoustic properties of infant cries and contrasted listener sociodemographic characteristics. Then, we asked participants to listen to several acoustic manipulations of infant cries and to judge the level of distress the infant was expressing and the level of distress participants felt when listening. Finally, as a contrasting condition, participants estimated the age of the crying infant. Using tree-based models, we found that judgments of the level of distress the infant was expressing as well as the level of distress listeners felt are mainly accounted for by select acoustic properties of infant cry (proportion of sound/pause, fundamental frequency, and number of utterances), whereas age estimates of a crying infant are determined mainly by listener sociodemographic characteristics (gender and parental status). Implications for understanding infant cry and its effects as well as early caregiver-infant interactions are discussed.

Sampling in Developmental Science: Situations, Shortcomings, Solutions, and Standards

Sampling is a key feature of every study in developmental science. Although sampling has far-reaching implications, too little attention is paid to sampling. Here, we describe, discuss, and evaluate four prominent sampling strategies in developmental science: population-based probability sampling, convenience sampling, quota sampling, and homogeneous sampling. We then judge these sampling strategies by five criteria: whether they yield representative and generalizable estimates of a study's target population, whether they yield representative and generalizable estimates of subsamples within a study's target population, the recruitment efforts and costs they entail, whether they yield sufficient power to detect subsample differences, and whether they introduce "noise" related to variation in subsamples and whether that "noise" can be accounted for statistically. We use sample composition of gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status to illustrate and assess the four sampling strategies. Finally, we tally the use of the four sampling strategies in five prominent developmental science journals and make recommendations about best practices for sample selection and reporting.

Human infant faces provoke implicit positive affective responses in parents and non-parents alike

Human infants' complete dependence on adult caregiving suggests that mechanisms associated with adult responsiveness to infant cues might be deeply embedded in the brain. Behavioural and neuroimaging research has produced converging evidence for adults' positive disposition to infant cues, but these studies have not investigated directly the valence of adults' reactions, how they are moderated by biological and social factors, and if they relate to child caregiving. This study examines implicit affective responses of 90 adults toward faces of human and non-human (cats and dogs) infants and adults. Implicit reactions were assessed with Single Category Implicit Association Tests, and reports of childrearing behaviours were assessed by the Parental Style Questionnaire. The results showed that human infant faces represent highly biologically relevant stimuli that capture attention and are implicitly associated with positive emotions. This reaction holds independent of gender and parenthood status and is associated with ideal parenting behaviors.

Identifying important life stages for monitoring and assessing risks from exposures to environmental contaminants: results of a World Health Organization review

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We propose a harmonized set of age bins for assessing risks from chemical exposure.

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The set of early life age groups will facilitate consistency with recent guidance.

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The age bins allow results from longitudinal birth cohort studies to be combined.

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Region-specific exposure factors and monitoring data are needed to apply the bins.

In this paper, we summarize exposure-related issues to consider in determining the most appropriate age ranges and life stages for risk assessment. We then propose a harmonized set of age bins for monitoring and assessing risks from exposures to chemicals for global use. The focus is on preconception through adolescence, though the approach should be applicable to additional life stages. A two-tiered set of early life age groups is recommended. The first tier involves the adoption of guidance similar to the childhood age groups recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, whereas the second tier consolidates some of those age groups to reduce the burden of developing age-specific exposure factors for different regions. While there is no single “correct” means of choosing a common set of age groups to use internationally in assessing early life exposure and risk, use of a set of defined age groups is recommended to facilitate comparisons of potential exposures and risks around the globe, the collection of data and analyses of aggregate exposure and cumulative risk. Application of these age groups for robust assessment of exposure and risk for specific populations will require region-specific exposure factors as well as local environmental monitoring data.

Parenting and child mental health: a cross-cultural perspective

In its most general instrumental sense, parenting consists of care of the young in preparing them to manage the tasks of life. Parents provide childhood experiences and populate the environments that guide children's development and so contribute to child mental health. Parenting is expressed in cognitions and practices. However, parents do not parent, and children do not grow up, in isolation, but in multiple contexts, and one notable context of parenting and child mental health is culture. Every culture is characterized, and distinguished from other cultures, by deep-rooted and widely acknowledged ideas about how one needs to feel, think, and act as an adequately functioning member of the culture. Insofar as parents subscribe to particular conventions of a culture, they likely follow prevailing "cultural scripts" in childrearing. Broadening our definition, it is therefore the continuing task of parents also to enculturate children by preparing them for the physical, psychosocial, and educational situations that are characteristic of their specific culture. Cross-cultural comparisons show that virtually all aspects of parenting children are informed by culture: culture influences when and how parents care for children, what parents expect of children, and which behaviors parents appreciate, emphasize and reward or discourage and punish. Thus, cultural norms become manifest in the mental health of children through parenting. Furthermore, variations in what is normative in different cultures challenge our assumptions about what is universal and inform our understanding of how parent-child relationships unfold in ways both culturally universal and specific. This essay concerns the contributions of culture to parenting and child mental health. No study of a single society can address this broad issue. It is possible, however, to learn lessons about parenting and child mental health from the study of different societies.

Perceptions of distress in young children with autism compared to typically developing children: a cultural comparison between Japan and Italy

This study investigates how adults in two contrasting cultures (Italian and Japanese) perceive episodes of crying of typically developing (TD) children and children with Autism Disorder (AD). Although cries of children with AD have been reported to elicit more distress in Western cultures, it is not known whether similar findings hold in Eastern cultures. In Experiment 1, we artificially modified structural parameters (fundamental frequency, duration of pauses, waveform modulation) of cries and asked Italian and Japanese adults to judge levels of expressed and felt distress in the cries. In Experiment 2, we asked Italian and Japanese adults to report these levels of distress on hearing cries of AD and TD children. In both cultures, cries with higher fundamental frequency and shorter pause durations were judged more distressing and distressed and observers perceived cries of children with AD as more distressing and distressed than cries of TD children. The similar responses in adults from two contrasting societies constitute evidence that reactions to cries of children with AD might be universal.

Cultural Approaches to Parenting

This article first introduces some main ideas behind culture and parenting and next addresses philosophical rationales and methodological considerations central to cultural approaches to parenting, including a brief account of a cross-cultural study of parenting. It then focuses on universals, specifics, and distinctions between form (behavior) and function (meaning) in parenting as embedded in culture. The article concludes by pointing to social policy implications as well as future directions prompted by a cultural approach to parenting.

Attributions and Attitudes of Mothers and Fathers in Italy

OBJECTIVE: The present study examined mean level similarities and differences as well as correlations between mothers' and fathers' attributions regarding successes and failures in caregiving situations and progressive versus authoritarian attitudes. DESIGN: Interviews were conducted with both mothers and fathers in 177 Italian families from Rome and Naples. RESULTS: Fathers' attributions reflected higher perceived control over failure than did mothers' attributions, whereas mothers reported attitudes that were more progressive than did fathers. Only the difference in progressive attitudes remained significant after controlling for parents' age, education, and possible social desirability bias. Site differences emerged for four of the seven attributions and attitudes examined; three remained significant after controlling for parents' age, education, and possible social desirability bias. Medium effect sizes were found for concordance between parents in the same family for authoritarian attitudes and modernity of attitudes after controlling for parents' age, education, and possible social desirability bias. CONCLUSIONS: This work elucidates ways that parent gender and cultural context relate to attributions regarding parents' success and failure in caregiving situations and to progressive versus authoritarian parenting attitudes.

Child Temperament in Three U.S. Cultural Groups

Temperament among children (N = 111 20-month-olds) from three cultural backgrounds in the United States (Latin American, Japanese American, and European American) was investigated. In accord with a biobehavioral universalist perspective on the expression of early temperament, few significant group differences in child temperament were found, regardless of cultural background. However, factors associated with maternal reports of child temperament differed by cultural group. The findings provide insight into the nature of child temperament generally and temperament of children in immigrant families specifically as well as parenting in immigrant families.

Mother-Infant Person- and Object-Directed Interactions in Latino Immigrant Families: A Comparative Approach

Cultural variation in durations, relations, and contingencies of mother-infant person-and object-directed behaviors were examined for 121 nonmigrant Latino mother-infant dyads in South America, Latina immigrants from South America and their infants living in the United States, and European American mother-infant dyads. Nonmigrant Latina mothers and infants engaged in person-directed behaviors longer than Latino immigrant or European American mothers and infants. Mother and infant person-directed behaviors were positively related; mother and infant object-related behaviors were related for some cultural groups but not others. Nearly all mother and infant behaviors were mutually contingent. Mothers were more responsive to infants' behaviors than infants were to mothers. Some cultural differences in responsiveness emerged. Immigrant status has a differentiated role in mother-infant interactions.

Comparison of Egyptian and Canadian children on a picture apperception test

Individualism-collectivism theory predicted that Egyptian and Canadian children's performance would differ on relevant scales of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC). The RATC was administered to 34 Egyptian and 34 Canadian children ages 6-13 years. Canadian children scored higher on autonomy and lower on receiving support from others and parental limit setting. At older ages, Egyptian children manifested less rejection, desire for help from others, and aggression. There were no cultural differences in anxiety or depression and few differences on indicator and resolution scales related to understanding the task and resolving problems. The findings validated cross-cultural use of the RATC and demonstrated that the increasingly general theory of collectivism allowed meaningful predictions about personality and clinical traits.

Exploring the biology of socialization

How will the social sciences take advantage of the revolution that has taken place in biology during the past two decades? Over the last fifteen years, neuroimaging has allowed the study of human cognition and emotion within psychology to achieve close alliances with biology through the development of cognitive and affective neuroscience. There is little doubt that a similar alliance between psychology and biology will occur in the domain of human brain development. In principle, understanding how the human brain is organized by experience (epigenetic rules) and how societies instruct their young could produce a link between natural and social science. The late David C. McClelland sought methods to base the social sciences on psychological ideas. McClelland sought to connect the values of achievement and power as coded from children's readers and popular ballads to societal economic growth and conflict. These efforts lacked knowledge of brain mechanisms of memory and attention and an understanding of the role of experience in organizing brain circuitry. Understanding of cognitive and brain systems related to knowledge and action may allow a new approach to forging connections between individual minds and social behavior.

The organisation of a national survey for evaluating child psychomotor development in Argentina

A total of 211 selected paediatricians were invited to participate in a national survey designed to evaluate the age of attainment of developmental milestones in children aged 0-5 years. Following a pilot study and a cascade training design, 61.1% of the paediatricians successfully completed the data collection on 139 developmental items. In the pilot study, there were more missing (not performed) items in children over one year of age, thus confirming the impression that paediatricians are more familiar with evaluating development in infants. However, in the age range 1-5 years, there were significantly fewer missing items in the gross motor area than in the other areas. Following a training programme and data editing and cleaning, a final sample of 3573 healthy, normal children was obtained. The impact of the training process was significant, in the sense that 3.5% of the items in children older than one year were not performed by the paediatricians before training, but this percentage was reduced to 1.9% after training (P < 0.01). The sample formed 0.11% of the national population less than 6 years of age and included a sex ratio of 1.01 compared with a national ratio of 1.02. There were no significant differences in the geographical distribution of the sample in comparison with that of the national population. The social composition, assessed by maternal education level, was biased towards a better education level than the national population. Mean Z-scores for height and weight were not significantly different from zero, when calculated on the basis of the national growth standards. In addition to successfully obtaining a representative sample for the analysis of the age of attainment of developmental milestones in Argentinian children, the survey also accomplished an educational objective in the training of paediatricians in developmental paediatrics.

Maternal responsiveness to infants in three societies: the United States, France, and Japan

This study examines and compares prominent characteristics of maternal responsiveness to infant activity during home-based naturalistic interactions of mother-infant dyads in New York City, Paris, and Tokyo. Both culture-general and culture-specific patterns of responsiveness emerged. For example, in all 3 locales infants behaved similarly, mothers also behaved similarly with respect to a hierarchy of response types, and mothers and infants manifest both specificity and mutual appropriateness in their interactions: Mothers responded to infants' exploration of the environment with encouragement to the environment, to infants' vocalizing nondistress with imitation, and to infants' vocalizing distress with nurturance. Differences in maternal responsiveness among cultures occurred to infant looking rather than to infant vocalizing and in mothers' emphasizing dyadic versus extradyadic loci of interaction. Universals of maternal responsiveness, potential sources of cultural variation, and implications of similarities and differences in responsiveness for child development in different cultural contexts are discussed.