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Date Posted: 18:52:39 01/31/07 Wed
Author: Rachel Landau
Subject: Re: class discussion 1-25-07
In reply to: Fawziya Rafael 's message, "class discussion 1-25-07" on 07:25:34 01/31/07 Wed

I agree, somewhat, with your opinion that culture is of greatest influence. However, I agree more with a perspective similar to Bronfenbrenner and the bioecological theory. Genetics and biology clearly play some role in a person's development and I think a person's genetic makeup will create a starting point of certain personality characteristics, such as agreeableness and openness to experience. However, from the day we are born, people (and culture) are influencing our life and shaping our personality- without our consent for quite awhile! The bioecological theory takes into account the various environmental systems we live in and their interactions with each other, with us directly, and with us indirectly. So many events are occuring and effecting one's development so rapidly that only looking at one aspect independently may not give the best picture of the situation. In practice, we consider all these environmental system variables when evaluating students because understanding the big picture helps us explain the behavior we see (so we can address it appropriately). Just to be clear, we also consider the biological factors (family history, health), cognitive factors (IQ, info processing), and the social factors (family, culture). Therefore, I agree with you Fawziyah, culture and the environment in which you are raised likely have the greatest impact on your development and personality. :)



>During the last class, we briefly touched upon
>Margaret Mead’s Sociocultural Theory. Although her
>theory tends to get easily dismissed, I can see why
>she perceived culture as playing a greater role on
>adolescent development than biological factors. When
>we refer back to the 3 categories of the nature of
>development (Biological, Cognitive, and
>Sociocultural), it is the sociocultural factors that
>would have the greatest variation from one adolescent
>to the next. As an example, peers tend to become a
>greater influence on adolescents in America than their
>families. In other cultures however (i.e. Hispanic,
>Asian, Middleeastern, and more) this shift away from
>the family does not occur. Traditionally, family
>remains the primary importance and influence in
>adolescents’ lives. Also, the strive for independence
>is very much an American trait, since various other
>societies tend to discourage independence and instead
>focus on what’s best for the family as a whole.
>Therefore, although I agree that Biological and
>Cognitive factors are important, these tend to be more
>generalizable among all adolescents. It is the
>cultural factors that greatly change the adolescent
>experience. At least that’s my opinion :).

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