Autonomy And The Norm In Collectivist Cultures

In an individualistic culture that promotes autonomy, an infant sleeps in his or her own crib or room, which requires the infant to self-regulate and self-soothe. In America babies tend to sleep solitary and, in general, spend much more of their time alone than babies do in more collectivist cultures. They spend considerable time sitting in playpens or play seats with their toys. Many parents feel that social time is stressful for babies and that infants need “downtime” to rest and recover. Babies very quickly learn that social interaction is spaced between times of solitude. Another example described by Rogoff is toilet training reflects individualism when it is compared with the norm in collectivist societies. The language used here exemplifies
how the experience of toilet training should be “individualized” for the child in America. The toddler is given a lot of leeway to make his own choices.

Additionally, many societies begin toilet training when the infant is just a few months old. The culturally accepted method of toilet training is to form a partnership between the child and the caregiver where they “sync up” signals when it is “time to go.” Babies in many non-western cultures are held almost constantly so that the caregiver can respond immediately to signals that the baby needs to urinate or have a bowel movement. This reinforces mutual dependence as the infant becomes accustomed to the caregiver’s involvement in the process. Traditionally in China, for example, this process is called elimination training. Babies and toddlers are encouraged to use the toilet on demand once the caregiver has noticed the “time to go” signals. The baby learns to go on demand while a caregiver is making whistling or shushing noises and the baby is being held over a toilet. Babies often wear slit-bottom pants called kaidangku and diapers aren’t used. Considerations about cultural variations in toilet training practices

In collectivist cultures where “elimination training” is practiced, when mistakes happen they are the fault of the caregiver who failed to be tuned-in enough. For instance, in America pediatricians sometimes need to coach American parents not punish or shame a child for potty-training mistakes.