Year 1 -
Undergrad
PS51005B: The
Psychology of the Person
Cultural Influences on Development
Session Aims
Define culture and its role in development
Explore Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory
Understand gene-culture co-evolution
Examine cross-cultural similarities and differences in development
Introduce the concepts of individualism and collectivism
What Is Culture?
Shared norms, beliefs, behaviours, and traditions passed down through generations
Learned via socialisation
Influences language, morality, cognition, and development
TED Talk: “How Language Shapes the Way We Think” – Lera Boroditsky
The Developmental Niche (Super & Harkness, 1997)
Children bring innate traits to culturally specific environments that shape development.
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory
Microsystem: Immediate environment (e.g. family, school)
Mesosystem: Interactions between microsystems
Exosystem: External settings that affect the child (e.g. parents’ workplace)
Macrosystem: Culture, values, ideologies
Chronosystem: Changes over time (e.g. historical shifts, life transitions)
Undergrad
PS51005B: The
Psychology of the Person
Cultural Influences on Development
Session Aims
Define culture and its role in development
Explore Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory
Understand gene-culture co-evolution
Examine cross-cultural similarities and differences in development
Introduce the concepts of individualism and collectivism
What Is Culture?
Shared norms, beliefs, behaviours, and traditions passed down through generations
Learned via socialisation
Influences language, morality, cognition, and development
TED Talk: “How Language Shapes the Way We Think” – Lera Boroditsky
The Developmental Niche (Super & Harkness, 1997)
Children bring innate traits to culturally specific environments that shape development.
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory
Microsystem: Immediate environment (e.g. family, school)
Mesosystem: Interactions between microsystems
Exosystem: External settings that affect the child (e.g. parents’ workplace)
Macrosystem: Culture, values, ideologies
Chronosystem: Changes over time (e.g. historical shifts, life transitions)
