The fourth edition of this market-leading cross-cultural human development text offers an interdisciplinary exploration of major developmental topics across the lifespan.Presented in a chronological-within-topics approach, this text focuses on cultural contexts throughout the world while emphasizing links between theory, research and practical applications.
What Reviewers Are Saying About Lives Across Cultures, 4e
Harry Gardiner and Corinne Kosmitzki, and their own very capable hands, skillfully and in an engaging and personal style, have energetically and generously updated and extended the coverage provided in the third edition of Lives Across Cultures. Covering all of the major developmental topics from cradle to grave, they take the reader through the labyrinth of lives that work and play and, unfortunately, fight through occasional major crises and the vexing problems of growing up. The style and tone of the book is genuinely comfortable. Reading it is like having a friendly dialogue with gentle and caring friends.
From the Forward by Walter J. Lonner
Western Washington University
To our knowledge this book has no competition, and is unique ... It is unusual for a book to change a curriculum, but rather than being written to fill a demand for classes in cross-cultural human development, it appears that these courses are being created at various universities because Gardiner and Kozmitzki published this text ... As Lonner writes in the foreword, the field is changing quickly and significantly, and LAC is in great hands as Gardiner and Kosmitzki reflect this change in each new edition. This is an improved edition, not just a newer edition.
David W. Shwalb and Barbara J. Shwalb
Southeastern Louisiana University
Chapter 1: Introduction
What is Cross-Cultural Human Development?
Cross-Cultural Human Development and the Other Social Sciences
Some Important Themes
A Cross-Cultural Perspective
Goals for the Field
An Ecological Model
The Developmental Niche
A Developmental Orientation
A Chronological-Within-Topics Approach
Practical Applications
Overview of the Book
Some Cross-Cultural Teasers
Summary
Study Questions
Further Readings
Chapter 2: Theories and Methodology
Theories of Development
What Is a Theory?
Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model
Super and Harkness's Developmental Niche
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory of Development
Erikson's Psychosocial Theory
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
Methodology in Cross-Cultural Human Development
Studying Development Cross Culturally: Some Methods, Problems, and Solutions
Methods for Assessing Components of the Developmental Niche
Studying Ecological Systems
Summary
Study Questions
Further Readings
Developmental Analysis
Chapter 3: Culture and Socialization
What is Socialization?
Ecological Model and the Development Niche
Some Cultural Variations in the Socialization of Behavior
Infancy
Childhood
Adolescence
Adulthood
Summary
Study Questions
Further Readings
Developmental Analysis
Chapter 4: Cultural Aspects of Physical Growth and Development
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Physical Development
The Prenatal Period
Infancy and Early Childhood
Middle Childhood
Adolescence
Early and Middle Adulthood
Later Adulthood
Summary
Study Questions
Further Readings
Developmental Analysis
Chapter 5: Culture, Language, and Cognition
The Language-Cognition-Culture Link
Infancy
Early Cognitive Development in Cultural Contexts
Language Acquisition
Early Second-Language Acquisition and Bilingualism
Childhood
Stages of Knowing and Learning
Language Skills and Language Socialization
Adolescence and Early Adulthood
Formal Operational Thinking
Analytic Thinking and Problem-Solving
Middle and Later Adulthood
Intelligence
Communicating in Later Life
Summary
Study Questions
Further Readings
Developmental Analysis
Chapter 6: Culture, Self, and Personality
Infancy and Temperament
Temperament, Ecological Systems, and the Developmental Niche
Temperament and Goodness of Fit
Childhood and the Emergence of the Self
Cultural Views of the Person
Personhood in a Balinese Village
Personhood in China, Japan, and the United States
Cultural Views of the Self as a Person
Culture-Specific Aspects of Self
Content and Context of the Self-Concept
Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy
Adolescence: Threshold to the Adult World
Identity Formation
Social Identity Formation
Cultural Influences on Social Identity
Adulthood and Aging
Normative Tasks of Social Living in Samoa
Summary
Study Questions
Further Readings
Developmental Analysis
Chapter7: Issues of Gender and Sexuality
Theoretical Perspectives on Gender Differences
Biological Perspectives
Evolutionary Perspectives
Socialization and Learning Perspectives
Infancy and Childhood
Gender Socialization
Cultural Influences on Female and Male Socialization
Gender Relationships in Childhood
Adolescence
Markers of Sexual Maturation
Gender, Sexuality, and Cultural Taboos
Early and Middle Adulthood
Status and the Division of Labor within the Family
Division of Labor in the Workforce
Gender Relations in Social Status, Religion, and Public Policy
Later Adulthood and Old Age
Divorce and Widowhood
Gender Roles and Status in Old Age
Summary
Study Questions
Further Readings
Developmental Analysis
Chapter 8: Culture and Social Behavior
Infancy
Child-Caretaker Relationships and Attachment Patterns
Secure Base-Hypothesis
The Sensitivity Hypothesis
Consistency and Inconsistency of Attachment Over Time
Childhood
Peer Culture and Social Relationships
Sharing and Social Participation
Moral Development and Prosocial Orientation
Cultural Influences on Caring and Justice Orientation
Aggression
Adolescence
Family and Peer Influences on Adolescent Social Behavior
Cultural Influences on Adolescent Social Behavior
Adulthood and Aging
Developmental Tasks in Middle and Later Adulthood
Work and Leisure in Middle Adulthood
Sport as a Social Phenomenon
Social Support and Well-Being in Later Adulthood
Summary
Study Questions
Further Readings
Developmental Analysis
Chapter 9: The Family in Cultural Context
Cultural Variations in the Family Life Cycle
Mate Selection
Marriage and Other Ling-Term Relationships
The Birth Process Across Cultures
The Ecology of Birth
The Transition to Parenthood
Parenting Infants and Children
Parental Belief Systems
Mothering
Fathering
Parenting Adolescents
The Ecological Model and Adolescence
Cross-Cultural Differences in Adolescent Peer Relationships
Adulthood and Aging
Grandparenthood
Caring for the Elderly
The Changing Context of Families
Summary
Study Questions
Further Readings
Developmental Analysis
Chapter 10: Cultural and Health
Cultural Concepts of Health and Healing
Culture-Bound Syndromes
Medical Diagnosis Across Cultures
Infancy and Childhood
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Childhood Mental Health
Parental Beliefs About Caring for Infants and Children
Adolescence
Eating Disorders
Culture and Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Culture and Adolescent Drug Use
Early and Middle Adulthood
Mental Health Issues
Later Adulthood
Disease and Premature Aging
Cultural Views on Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease
Summary
Study Questions
Further Readings
Developmental Analysis
Chapter 11: Looking to the Future
Looking Back: A Review of Major Themes and Theories
Ecological Model
Developmental Niche
Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory
Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Theory
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development
Where Do We Go from Here? Thoughts and Challenges to the Future
Summary
Study Questions
Further Readings
