The Cultural Nature Of Human Development

The Cultural Nature of Human Development Barbara Rogoff OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS The Cultural Nature of Human Development Cultural Barbara Rogoff Human Development 1 2003 1 Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Capetown Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi São Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto Copyright © 2003 by Barbara Rogoff Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rogoff, Barbara. The cultural nature of human development / Barbara Rogoff. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-513133-9 1. Socialization. 2. Child development. 3. Cognition and culture. 4. Developmental psychology. I. Title. HM686 .R64 2003 305.231 — dc21 2002010393 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper For Salem, Luisa, Valerie, and David with appreciation for their companionship and support all along the way. This page intentionally left blank acknowledgments I deeply appreciate the wisdom, support, and challenges of Beatrice Whiting , Lois and Ben Paul, Mike Cole, Sylvia Scribner, Shep White, Jerry Kagan, Roy Malpass, Marta Navichoc Cotuc, Encarnación Perez, Pablo Cox Bixcul, and the children and parents of San Pedro, who opened my eyes to patterns of culture and how to think about them. I am grateful to the insightful discussions and questions of Cathy Angelillo, Krystal Bellinger, Rosy Chang, Pablo Chavajay, Erica Coy, Julie Holloway, Afsaneh Kalantari, Ed Lopez, Eugene Matusov, Rebeca Mejía Arauz, Behnosh Najafi, Emily Parodi, Ari Taub, Araceli Valle, and my graduate and undergraduate students who helped me develop these ideas. I especially appreciate the suggestions of Debi Bolter, Maricela Correa-Chávez, Sally Duensing, Shari Ellis, Ray Gibbs, Giyoo Hatano, Carol Lee, Elizabeth Magarian, Ruth Paradise, Keiko Takahashi, Catherine Cooper, Marty Chemers, and Wendy Williams and the valuable assistance of Karrie André and Cindy White. The editorial advice of Jonathan Cobb, Elizabeth Knoll, Joan Bossert, and several anonymous reviewers greatly improved the book. I greatly appreciate the donors and UCSC colleagues who created the UCSC Foundation chair in psychology that supports my work. This page intentionally left blank Orienting Concepts and Ways of Understanding the Cultural Nature of Human Development Looking for Cultural Regularities One Set of Patterns: Children’s Age-Grading and Segregation from Community Endeavors or Participation in Mature Activities Other Patterns Orienting Concepts for Understanding Cultural Processes Moving Beyond Initial Assumptions Beyond Ethnocentrism and Deficit Models Separating Value Judgments from Explanations Diverse Goals of Development Ideas of Linear Cultural Evolution Moving Beyond Assumptions of a Single Goal of Human Development Learning through Insider/Outsider Communication Outsiders’ Position Insiders’ Position Moving between Local and Global Understandings Revising Understanding in Derived Etic Approaches The Meaning of the “Same” Situation across Communities x CONTENTS Development as Transformation of Participation in Cultural Activities A Logical Puzzle for R