Table Of ContentR. MURRAY THOMAS
Human
Development
Theories
WI N D O WS ON CU L T U RE
Sage Publications, Inc.
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Copyright © 1999 by Sage Publications, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Thomas, R. Murray (Robert Murray), 1921-
Human development theories: Windows on culture / by R. Murray
Thomas.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7619-2015-3 (alk. paper)
1. Socialization. 2. Cognition and culture. 3. Child development.
4. Developmental psychology. I. Title.
HQ783 T57 1999
306—dc21 99-6589
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
99 00 01 02 03 04 05 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Acquiring Editor: Jim Brace-Thompson
Editorial Assistant: Anna Howland
To
S. Lester Guinn
Contents
Tables and Figures vii
Preface viii
1. Visions of Culture, Visions of Development, and
Careproviders' Interventions 1
A Sample Theory 2
Qualities of Culture 11
Human Development Theories 22
Careproviders' Interventions 24
Summary 25
Part I: Mental Processes and Contents
2. Cognition 29
Stages of Mental Development—Piaget 29
Frames of Mind—Gardner 36
A Sociohistorical Conception of Intelligence—Vygotsky 44
The Social Construction of Reality—D'Andrade 48
Phenomenological Constructions of Reality—Jackson 51
Dream work—Jung 58
Summary 64
3. Learning 67
The Focus of Attention—E. Gibson 68
Cycles of Observing and Acting—J. Gibson and E. Gibson 75
The Acquisition of Gender Attributes—Bandura 84
Behavior and Its Consequences—Skinner 92
Twisted Learning: Autism—Baron-Cohen 99
Summary 105
4. Attitudes, Emotions, and Values 109
Prejudice and Discrimination—Snyder, Meine, and Katz 109
Emotions: General—Lewis 116
Emotions: Grief—Sanders 124
Moral Values—Kohlberg 134
Summary 143
Part II: Structural Features of Theories
5. Development Configurations 149
Life-Stages Theories—Havighurst 150
Accumulating Roles—Biddle 158
Attributions—Kelley and Weiner 165
Social Reciprocity—Eve 172
The Significance of Societal Circumstances—Elder 177
Summary 186
6. Forms of Interaction 191
The Nature of Interactions 191
Biology and Culture—Thomas and Chess 193
Development within Ecological Systems—Bronfenbrenner 198
Id, Ego, Environment, and Superego—S. Freud 208
Metempsychosis and Karma—Hinduism 216
Summary 222
Part III: Final Words
7. The Future of Theories and Cultures 229
The Book's Contents in Retrospect 229
Trends in Theories 230
Trends in Cultures 232
Conclusion 240
References 241
Name Index 257
Subject Index 261
About the Author 271
Tables and Figures
Tables
5-1 Developmental Tasks of Early Childhood and Late Adolescence 154
5-2 Female Sex-Role Norms in Iran and the USA 156
5-3 Causes of Jane's Performance on Three Dimensions 167
5-4 Labor-Force Trends 1950-2000 183
6-1 Freud's Psychosexual Stages of Development 210
Figures
1-1 A Social-Cultural Framework for Analyzing Peer Abuse 5
1-2 A Multicultural Hierarchy 15
4-1 An Integrative Theory of Bereavement 125
5-1 Relationship of Societal Conditions and Birth Cohorts 179
6-1 Embedded Systems of Environments 201
6-2 Differences in Two 17-Year-Olds' Mesosystems 205
6-3 Differences in Two 17-Year-Olds' Exosystems 206
6-4 Two Forms of Dynamic Interaction 223
6-5 Interactions in Bioecological Theory 224
6-6 Generative Interaction in Freudian Theory 225
6-7 Reciprocal Interactions in Freudian Theory 225
6-8 Interactions in a Hindu Model 226
vii
Preface
The contents of this book are based on the observation that the human
perceptual system and a camera are both bound by the same limitation. Neither
the camera nor the person can focus on everything at once. The camera, in order
to portray a panoramic landscape in all its detail, must take a succession of
individual snapshots, each featuring a particular center of interest. The person,
in order to comprehend a culture in all its complexities, must perceive the
culture from a succession of vantage points. Throughout this book, those
vantage points are provided by 25 theories of human development. Each theory
is intended to delineate a particular aspect of culture, thereby contributing toward
a broad understanding of what cultures are all about. However, because cultures
are so elaborate, the 25 models employed in these pages cannot pretend to
furnish a complete account. Hundreds of additional theories would be required to
even approach an encyclopedic description of cultures. Thus, the book is a
demonstration of the value of diverse viewpoints toward culture rather than an
exhaustive portrait of the diverse guises cultures can assume.
Finally, I wish to express my appreciation to Paul Pedersen and Jim Brace-
Thompson for their advice and support. I am also indebted to the Sage staff
members for the care and wisdom they dedicated to this venture.
viii
1
Visions of Culture,
Visions of Development, and
Careproviders5 Interventions
This book has been designed to answer three questions: (a) In what ways do
different theories of human development contribute to an understanding of
cultural influences on young people's growing up over the first quarter-century
of their lives? (b) What differences among cultures can each theory reveal? (c)
How can understanding cultural influences guide the activities of people who
seek to foster the development of children and youth?
The first question is based on the assumptions that (a) each theory of develop-
ment functions as a window or lens focusing attention on selected aspects of
how people grow up and (b) the way culture influences development can be
portrayed differently in each theory. Hence, a many-faceted understanding of the
interaction between culture and development can be derived from analyzing the
roles assigned to culture in diverse theories. As the question indicates, our
attention throughout the book centers on cultural influences during the 25-year
term extending from biological conception into early adulthood. The words
child and childhood encompass the period from conception (the unborn child)
through birth and infancy up to puberty at around ages 10 to 15. The word
youth refers to life between the age of puberty up to the time of early adulthood
in the mid-twenties. Thus, the book focuses on what have been called "the
formative years"—that segment of time during which physical self and person-
ality are being initially constructed.
The second question stems from the observation that the cultures in which the
young are raised can differ markedly, and that these differences affect children's
physical growth, aspirations, abilities, values, life chances, and personal-social
adjustment. In short, theories of human development are useful for identifying
how different cultures influence the destinies of children and youth.
The third question is founded on the expectation that (a) parents, teachers,
counselors, psychologists, social workers, pediatricians, and other careproviders
welcome guidance in how to promote the development of children and youth and
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