2-048 - Cultural Influences on Children's Development of a Sense of Agency: Implications for Pro-social Behavior

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Little is known about cultural influences on how children develop a sense of agency. We explore this question in cross-cultural development research examining experiences of agency in meeting social expectations among Asian as compared with American children, and the socialization processes that influence the development of agency. Assessing outlooks on moral agency among Singaporean Chinese, Singaporean Malay, and American children ages 4-11 years old, the first paper shows that with increasing age American children report feeling increasingly free to violate justice obligations like avoiding harm, whereas Chinese children do not feel free to violate justice obligations. The second paper assesses outlooks on meeting moral obligations involving helping family members among 9- and 12-year old children and their parents in the US and India, as well as socialization influences on these outlooks. Results indicate that American children and their parents associate autonomy with acting independently of social expectations whereas Indian children and their parents associate autonomy with meeting social expectations, with these outlooks subtly embodied in the content of children’s storybooks in each culture. Finally, in presenting results of a year-long longitudinal investigation among Chinese immigrant and European-American families, the third study demonstrates that family reminiscing practices assume culturally variable as well as common forms and are associated with children’s development of self-agency. Together, the studies point to culturally variable as well as common developmental pathways through which children come to internalize the moral outlooks on social relations salient in their culture.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Joan G Miller, New School for Social Research

Discussant

• Felix Warneken, Harvard University

Individual Presentations

• Development of moral agency in 4-11 year old Singaporean and American children - Presenting Author: Carissa Kang, Dept. of Human Development, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University; Nadia Chernyak, Boston University; Tamar Kushnir, Cornell University

• Duty and desire: Internalization of social expectations among Indian and American children and their parents - Presenting Author: Namrata Goyal, Department of Psychology, New School for Social Research; Matthew Wice, Department of Psychology, New School for Social Research; Alyson Aladro, Department of Psychology, New School for Social Research; Malin Kallberg-Shroff, Department of Psychology, New School for Social Research; Joan G Miller, New School for Social Research

• Mother-child reminiscing about peer experiences in cultural contexts: The relation to children's peer-related self-views - Presenting Author: Quingfang Song, Dept. of Human Development, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University; Qi Wang, Dept. of Human Development, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University