Developmental Psychology: How Culture Shapes Who We Are

Brianna Binion
Dep3053 Developmental Psychology
Section Number: 0069
How Culture Shapes Who We Are

A child’s behavior tends to reflect their cultural background. Being raised in different cultural backgrounds affects the way children view the world around them. In addition, cultural backgrounds help define who we are. If my child, Aliyah, was raised in a traditional Chinese cultural background, her behaviors would be based off of different religious views, moral values and gender roles. As a result, my child would display a relatively similar yet different behavior.
During the stimulation, my parenting style was more authoritative. I set limitation for my child, however, I was supportive of my child in all aspects. I was loving and encouraging. As a result, Aliyah displayed a secure attachment pattern. When Aliyah was around new kids, she would be reserved to herself until she warmed up to the other kids. When Aliyah was in the sensorimotor stage, she would become anxious when I left her with other relatives. However, after a while she
would become relaxed and continue playing with her toys.
The traditional religious views in America and China are very different. I choose the raise Aliyah in a Baptist base household. When attended church every Sunday and bible study every Wednesday. Furthermore, we follow the Ten Commandments. However, the religions that are practiced in China are Taoism, Buddhism, and the traditional religion, Confucianism. A key concept of Confucianism is filiality, which is known as Xiao. Xiao is the belief in worshipping your ancestors (Cohen, 1992, p.5). In addition, Confucians believe in constant communication with the Gods and the dead through various mediums (Cohen, 1992, p.6). If Aliyah was raised in a traditional Chinese religious household, she would follow the commandments governing Confucianism, such as the Golden Rule, do onto others how you want others to do onto you.
Moral values are a universal concept among all cultures. However, some cultures place more emphasis on a moral value than others. I placed an emphasis on honesty, responsibility, empathy and self-control when raising Aliyah. China’s moral values consist of harmony, empathy and group collaboration (Han, 2010, p. 40). In addition, China has a curriculum, where they teach students moral values (Han, 2010, p.48). Although, America does not have a specific curriculum where they teach students various moral values, students learn moral values the rules governing the school. For example, if a student skips class, they go to detention. In return, the student learns the value of going to class. In China, the moral values are expected to be followed at all times with no exceptions.
In American culture, gender role do not exist as prevalently as in the 17th century.
I decided to raise Aliyah in a household where no gender roles existed. Women could obtain and complete traditional “male” jobs and chores. The traditional Confucian Chinese community believed females should be portrayed as “strong women” (Johnson, 2009, p.2). However, the modern view of gender roles in China contradicts the traditional. Chinese people today “believe” that women should achieve greatness, however they should not obtain higher education (Johnson, 2009, p.2). If Aliyah was raised in Chinese culture, she would not be expected to achieve higher education and a career. Aliyah could achieve greatness in the job that she has but will not be expected to be on the same level as a men. Not being expected to achieve much could cause Aliyah to strive to have higher education and a career or Aliyah could follow the gender
roles.
Essentially, American and Chinese cultures share similarities and differences. In a traditional Chinese household the parents present an authoritarian parenting style (Nelson, 2006, p.555). If Aliyah was raised in a Chinese cultural household, she would live under strict rules without any disobedience to the rules of the house. American culture tends to be more lenient compared to Chinese culture. However, some Americans display an authoritarian parenting style. Ultimately, the culture that a child is raised in affects the way they will present and feel about themselves.

Works Cited
Cohen, M. L. (1992). Religion in a state society: China. Asia: Case Studies in the Social Sciences, 17-31.
Han, Y., & Altman, Y. (2010). Confucian moral roots of citizenship behaviour in China. Asia-Pacific
Journal of Business Administration, 2(1), 35-52.
Johnson, K. A. (2009). Women, the family, and peasant revolution in China. University of Chicago Press.
Nelson, D. A., Hart, C. H., Yang, C., Olsen, J. A., & Jin, S. (2006). Aversive parenting in China:
Associations with child physical and relational aggression. Child development, 77(3), 554-572.