Enculturation
KEY TERMS:
TERM DEFINITION
Enculturation The process of how we adopt the behaviors that are the norm for our
culture.
Cultural norms Behaviors that are considered normal in a certain culture.
Direct tuition When parents, teachers, or other members of society explicitly teach
you certain behaviors.
Vertical transmission When an individual learns a behavior from their parents.
Participatory learning When children engage in an activity and then transfer that learning to
different situations.
Gatekeepers People in society who influence the development of cultural and social
norms.
Values enculturation Enculturing the values of that society.
KEY STUDY:
Study ID Hilliard & Liben
Aim To determine how social category salience may play a role on the development of
stereotypes and inter-group behavior in elementary school children.
Method ○ Field experiment
○ Private pre-school (57 US school children aged 3-5, M/F)
○ Pre-test/post-test design
○ Random allocation
○ Pre-test: gender aptitude test to measure "gender flexibility"
■ Children were shown activities and jobs (e.g., firefighter,
playing with dolls, flying a kite) and were asked to identify if
boys, girls, or both "should" perform it
○ Observed the children's play to see the extent to which they played
with same-sex vs opposite-sex
○ 2 conditions (high salience and low salience)
■ HIGH: made aware of their gender (line up by sex, gendered
bulletin boards, teachers' use of gender-specific language, etc.)
■ LOW: teachers were given no instruction and did not change
their behavior
○ Children were debriefed after two weeks by teachers and researchers
KEY TERMS:
TERM DEFINITION
Enculturation The process of how we adopt the behaviors that are the norm for our
culture.
Cultural norms Behaviors that are considered normal in a certain culture.
Direct tuition When parents, teachers, or other members of society explicitly teach
you certain behaviors.
Vertical transmission When an individual learns a behavior from their parents.
Participatory learning When children engage in an activity and then transfer that learning to
different situations.
Gatekeepers People in society who influence the development of cultural and social
norms.
Values enculturation Enculturing the values of that society.
KEY STUDY:
Study ID Hilliard & Liben
Aim To determine how social category salience may play a role on the development of
stereotypes and inter-group behavior in elementary school children.
Method ○ Field experiment
○ Private pre-school (57 US school children aged 3-5, M/F)
○ Pre-test/post-test design
○ Random allocation
○ Pre-test: gender aptitude test to measure "gender flexibility"
■ Children were shown activities and jobs (e.g., firefighter,
playing with dolls, flying a kite) and were asked to identify if
boys, girls, or both "should" perform it
○ Observed the children's play to see the extent to which they played
with same-sex vs opposite-sex
○ 2 conditions (high salience and low salience)
■ HIGH: made aware of their gender (line up by sex, gendered
bulletin boards, teachers' use of gender-specific language, etc.)
■ LOW: teachers were given no instruction and did not change
their behavior
○ Children were debriefed after two weeks by teachers and researchers
