Understanding Childhood and Youth
Culture and Personality School - Boas
● Rejected social evolutionism, interesting in effect of environment on society.
● Interested in how child-rearing practices in cultures impacted children.
● Study of ‘national character’ – you need to understand how culture and environment
have an impact on personality and behaviour.
Margaret Mead (student of Boas; 1901-1978)
● Interested in how upbringing affected children’s behaviour.
● Behaviour as a result of cultural factors.
Ruth Benedict (student of Boas; 1887-1948)
● She argued that the cultural whole of a tribal society determined the nature of its parts
and its relationships within the society.
● She looked for patterns of thought and action within a society that could be traced back
to childrearing practices.
Summary of above
● Compared to the psychological perspectives, social and cultural factors are deemed to
affect social structure.
● In turn affects the whole culture – it’s circular.
● National characteristics shared by a population.
Critiques of this
● The circular relationship between culture and personality is the same process as that of
acquisition of culture – it becomes a chicken and egg scenario.
● It’s universalising – it doesn’t have much room for individuality.
● It’s unlikely that you could explain personalities entirely in reference to upbringing.
Youth subcultural studies
● Children are raised to do the things that society expects of them, but when they get to a
certain age, they rebel against this.
● Creates a subculture of resistance.
● This field of study became influential in the 1960s through studies of youth gangs -
subcultural tribes.
● Also studied by anthropologists.
Socialisation
, ● We learn social conventions by learning from adults.
● But adults are deliberately raising children and socialisation them in specific deliberate
ways.
● This is why there is cultural diversity - each society teaches children in different ways.
● It’s not about the organism responding, it’s about learning and being taught.
● It’s about how adult society reacts to children in ways that cause them to take on
particular characteristics.
● Linear process.
● Individual children move from being asocial beings to mature, competent social adults
● It’s about how a child is born and through interaction, society raises them in the image of
that society.
Critiques of socialisation
● It’s about society imposing rules on children.
● It’s seen as a process that’s organic to the society rather than the individual.
● Everything that happens in society is functional to the continuity of that society, rather
than individuals making choices.
● Role of children within this - children aren’t seen as full human beings.
● Children as seen as passively receiving and reproducing the society in which they grew
up. Not active agents.
● No attention is given to the differences that children acquire themselves.
● This theory is still prevalent. It’s assumed by sociologists that this is how things work.
Youth transition studies
● Focuses on transitions to adult life.
● Focuses on those concerned with ‘troubled youth’ and economic roles.
● Transitions to adulthood are longer and more complex. The routes to get there are more
diverse.
● Focuses on particular groups - society is fragmented by gender, class, ethnicity,
nationality, age, religion etc.
● Teenage pregnancy a concern - having children in the ‘wrong’ sequence.
● School dropout is another anxiety.
● How far are these approaches actually interested in children and youth?
Psychological perspective
● Managing problem youth.
● Avoiding difficulties in adulthood.
● Understanding cognitive processes.
● Approaches from anthropology, sociology and cultural studies.
● How societies keep going.
Culture and Personality School - Boas
● Rejected social evolutionism, interesting in effect of environment on society.
● Interested in how child-rearing practices in cultures impacted children.
● Study of ‘national character’ – you need to understand how culture and environment
have an impact on personality and behaviour.
Margaret Mead (student of Boas; 1901-1978)
● Interested in how upbringing affected children’s behaviour.
● Behaviour as a result of cultural factors.
Ruth Benedict (student of Boas; 1887-1948)
● She argued that the cultural whole of a tribal society determined the nature of its parts
and its relationships within the society.
● She looked for patterns of thought and action within a society that could be traced back
to childrearing practices.
Summary of above
● Compared to the psychological perspectives, social and cultural factors are deemed to
affect social structure.
● In turn affects the whole culture – it’s circular.
● National characteristics shared by a population.
Critiques of this
● The circular relationship between culture and personality is the same process as that of
acquisition of culture – it becomes a chicken and egg scenario.
● It’s universalising – it doesn’t have much room for individuality.
● It’s unlikely that you could explain personalities entirely in reference to upbringing.
Youth subcultural studies
● Children are raised to do the things that society expects of them, but when they get to a
certain age, they rebel against this.
● Creates a subculture of resistance.
● This field of study became influential in the 1960s through studies of youth gangs -
subcultural tribes.
● Also studied by anthropologists.
Socialisation
, ● We learn social conventions by learning from adults.
● But adults are deliberately raising children and socialisation them in specific deliberate
ways.
● This is why there is cultural diversity - each society teaches children in different ways.
● It’s not about the organism responding, it’s about learning and being taught.
● It’s about how adult society reacts to children in ways that cause them to take on
particular characteristics.
● Linear process.
● Individual children move from being asocial beings to mature, competent social adults
● It’s about how a child is born and through interaction, society raises them in the image of
that society.
Critiques of socialisation
● It’s about society imposing rules on children.
● It’s seen as a process that’s organic to the society rather than the individual.
● Everything that happens in society is functional to the continuity of that society, rather
than individuals making choices.
● Role of children within this - children aren’t seen as full human beings.
● Children as seen as passively receiving and reproducing the society in which they grew
up. Not active agents.
● No attention is given to the differences that children acquire themselves.
● This theory is still prevalent. It’s assumed by sociologists that this is how things work.
Youth transition studies
● Focuses on transitions to adult life.
● Focuses on those concerned with ‘troubled youth’ and economic roles.
● Transitions to adulthood are longer and more complex. The routes to get there are more
diverse.
● Focuses on particular groups - society is fragmented by gender, class, ethnicity,
nationality, age, religion etc.
● Teenage pregnancy a concern - having children in the ‘wrong’ sequence.
● School dropout is another anxiety.
● How far are these approaches actually interested in children and youth?
Psychological perspective
● Managing problem youth.
● Avoiding difficulties in adulthood.
● Understanding cognitive processes.
● Approaches from anthropology, sociology and cultural studies.
● How societies keep going.
