Cross-Cultural Human Development

Cross-Cultural Human Development
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Cross – Cultural Human Development
Gardiner and Kosmitzki define culture as a combination of learned as well as shared beliefs, values, behaviors and attitudes of particular people which are passed on from generation to generation (2011). People always encounter various cultures in the course of their lives in different ways. These encounters may occur as a result from travelling, migrating, and reading or even through the media such as television. Cultural influences and interaction is also common through social networking sites for instance Facebook and YouTube. Therefore, cross-cultural human development comprises the psychological, physical as well as social behaviors experienced by people through the course of their lives as they grow up in different cultural contexts. It encompasses the cultural similarities and differences experienced by individuals in the processes of growth and development as well as their outcomes expressed through behavior in people or communities (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2011). This paper discuses the subject of cross-cultural human development as documented in the book “Lives across cultures: Cross-cultural human development” by Harry Gardiner and Corrine Kosmitzki.
Briefly summarize your reflections on the life experiences described in the text.
The diversity of life experiences in the various cultural settings described in the text clearly indicates the importance of understanding and respecting one another’s cultures. Gardiner, who is one of the authors, is personally undergoing cross-cultural experiences in his life. Gardiner states that he is married to an Asian woman from Thailand with whom they have four children. Raising a cross-cultural and bilingual family has enabled Gardiner to experience first hand the issue of cross-cultural human development (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2011). Gardiner asserts that he and his wife had assisted their children to become bilingual by speaking to them in both English and Thai from when they were infants resulting to their children speaking both languages. The extraordinary cultural and linguistic development is solely due to the upbringing of the children in a bilingual family setting.
There are also cross-cultural human development differences between various countries in raising children right from infancy. An example from life experience in the text is the variation between Japan and the USA. The Japanese collectivist culture encourages dependence as well as interdependence and children can sleep with their parents for many years. This differs with the culture in the USA, which emphasizes on individual achievement and children sleep in separate rooms, not with their parents. These two different cultural upbringings have a significant impact on a child’s development through life. There is also the life experience of grand parenting, which is different amongst some countries. The view of the elderly in China, Japan, India, the U.S and other countries vary significantly.
Furthermore, there are the different experiences of adolescent youth from different countries and cities around the world. For instance, the experience of an adolescent in a homogeneous society such as Nigeria where people are mostly of a single cultural is very different from that of an American say in New York, which is very heterogeneous due to the diverse groups of people from different cultures around the world who reside there. An adolescent may therefore find life much easier in Nigeria than in New York. There is also the experience of some young people engaging in eating disorders such as anorexia so as to have an ideal body image. This is mostly common in developed countries such as Japan and Australia. There is also the experience regarding the care of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Caregivers from the Hispanic, Native American and Anglo communities treat patients with the disease differently. The life experiences also reveal that popcorn in the USA is not similar to that of Britain. Moreover, on the issue of marriage, people in various cultures have different considerations concerning a marriage partner ranging from money, looks, health to security. There is also the experience from a Balinese village on cultural views of individuals, which is that of individualism and collectivism compared to that of personhood in countries such as China, Japan and the USA.
What developmental themes emerge in these stories and how are these themes resolved within the individual and collective life experience?
The first theme is the Cross-Cultural Perspective. According to Gardiner and Kosmitzki, it is very important for people to understand and appreciate different cultures. Individuals also have to realize that different people have a different understanding on issues and events (2011). We mostly get to learn and understand other cultures through various means, for instance travelling, studying or even working in a different cultural environment. A person’s attitude towards these different cultures determines how he or she will experience the cultural impact. For instance, one might find another culture more frustrating or backward if they have negative attitudes towards them. On the other hand, someone’s experience on a different culture can be more enjoyable and rewarding if he or she learns to accept, acknowledge and even embrace it.
From the author’s experiences, we get to understand the importance of learning about different cultures. Gardiner had an experience in Britain, a country that even though speaks the same language as the U.S, has a very different culture regarding some issues compared to the United States, for instance the differences regarding popcorn and the preparation of popcorn (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2011). This developmental theme is resolved through the understanding and appreciation of one another’s cultural practices and beliefs. This is primarily because we all grow up within our own cultural settings where we properly understand the ways of life within our societies. These experiences and ways of life might not always be familiar or understood by people who live in other parts of the world or different en...