Poster #173 - Early Socialization of Emotional Display in Yucatec Mayan and US households

• In Event: 1-005 - Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Section - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Integrative Statement

Cultures vary in the extent to which different emotional expressions (like high-intensity distress or joy) are valued, and these values strongly shape the way subjective emotional experiences are expressed and managed. However, little is known regarding distinct developmental socialization processes that enable children to adopt culturally appropriate emotional appraisal, expression, and response schemas. The goal of the current research is to examine similarities and differences in emotional socialization practices in two cultural communities: a Yucatec Mayan community in southeastern Mexico, where emotional displays (especially negative ones) are typically minimalized (e.g., Hanks, 1993) and a majority middle-class community in the United States where emotional displays are considered more culturally appropriate (Mesquita & Frijda, 1992).

Hour long video was collected in visits to the homes of 18-month-old Mayan and US infants and their families (n= 32 per culture, to date 5 US and 9 Mayan videos have been coded). Families were asked to go about activities as they normally would. Coders unaware of the study hypotheses watched the videos and marked each instance that the target infant demonstrated a visible negative (crying or whining) or positive (laughing or smiling) emotional response. Coders then marked 1) whether or not anyone around the child responded to the emotional display (e.g., by soothing, praising, teasing, punishing etc.) and 2) who responded to the emotional display (another child or an adult).

There were no significant differences across cultures in the extent to which infants displayed emotions (table 1) and across cultures those around the target child were more likely to respond to negative as compared to positive emotional displays t(14)=5.8, p<001. However, those around Mayan infants were less likely to respond (in any manner) to negative emotional displays as compared to individuals around US infants t(9.4)=3.8, p<.01, while there were no cultural differences in the extent of response to positive emotional displays t(12)=.25, ns. Additionally, across emotional displays there was a trend by which Mayan infants were more likely to receive responses from other children as compared to US children, who received most responses from adults t(12)=2, p=.07 (see figure 1).

Together these results highlight that distinct socialization practices may reinforce the adoption of culturally appropriate display schemas. Mayan caregivers seeking to minimize negative emotional displays may be less likely to respond to negative displays than US caregivers. Coding is ongoing to complete the data set as well as to categorize with greater detail how Mayan vs. US families respond to both positive and negative emotional displays.
 

Authors

• Laura Shneidman, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
  Non-Presenting Author

• Regina Vélez Villalobos, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
  Presenting Author

• Elizabeth L Davis, University of California, Riverside
  Non-Presenting Author