Key idea: Children learn their culture's norms from what they are taught and from what they are asked to do every day. Those norms become part of the self.
Who teaches the norms
Family
What parents praise, buy and expect: toys, chores, clothes.
Peers
Friends reward children who fit the group's norms and tease those who do not.
School
Rules, uniforms and who is asked to do which jobs.
Media
Who is shown doing what, again and again.
Family · Peers · School · Media
Whiting and Whiting (1975) observed children in six cultures. Where children cared for younger siblings and did household tasks, they were more helpful and responsible; where they had few duties, they more often sought attention.
What HL adds: The culture extension: in more collectivist cultures, norms of duty to the family are enculturated early, so the self is described more through relationships than through personal traits.
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Key idea: Observations across cultures show what children learn; experiments show norms being taught. Neither alone shows how lasting the effect is.
What supports it
- Real communities in six cultures
- Babies treated by gender label (Smith and Lloyd)
- Norms change as cultures change
Where to be careful
- Cultures differ in many ways at once
- Observers may judge through their own norms
- Short sessions, not lasting effects
Culture can even change the timing of milestones: Keller and colleagues (2004) found that at 18 to 20 months more urban Greek toddlers recognised themselves in a mirror, while Cameroonian Nso toddlers more often followed adult instructions, each ahead on what their culture values. Children are not only shaped by norms: they choose friends and activities, and they can resist or change what is expected of them.
Watch out: Observation is not cause. Say what else differed between the cultures.