Bridging Cultural and Developmental Approaches to Psychology

"This wonderful book broadens the central question in psychology of what changes in human development to address not just change across the lifespan, but change across contexts, cultures, and societies. The reframing of developmental science in this volume is vital for the understanding and fulfillment of human potential in global contexts." -- Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education "Worldwide globalization puts one of people's greatest assets, their manifold cultures, at risk. Each culture offers distinct worldviews that shape human development. Yet our research and teaching are dominated by the Western individualistic model of growing up. This book joins forces between the study of cultures and the study of human development, and offers new insights into the interplay between cultural change and human adaptation. It provides an agora of excellent scientists and hot topics from around the world, and a blueprint for tomorrow's aspiring research and application." -- Rainer K. Silbereisen, President, International Union of Psychological Science "Jensen and her colleagues present a singularly creative, important, and timely integration of developmental and cultural perspectives on the course of human life. The book provides an exciting, rich, and compelling framework for productively fusing developmental and cultural theory, research, and applications in the service of understanding and enhancing human development." -- Richard M. Lerner, Bergstrom Chair in Applied Developmental Science and Director, Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University "In this remarkable book, the contributors cover extensive ground, from children's learning and memory to identity development, from emerging adulthood to acceptance of self and acceptance of the world. The resulting product is thought-provoking, informative, and enjoyable reading. This volume contributes significantly to our thinking concerning some of the most basic meta-theoretical debates in the fields of developmental psychology, cultural/cross-cultural psychology, and anthropology." -- Cigdem Kagitcibasi, Professor of Psychology, Koc University, and Member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences "The rich essays in this volume explore the fundamental question of what it means to become a person. How is it that people are born with largely the same biological capacities, yet develop to think and behave in such different ways across cultures? Integrating two research streams that often seem unaware of each other's existence, the contributors provide a provocative and fascinating mapping of the many paths of human development. As a whole, the book offers a forceful argument for how the study of developmental psychology is very relevant to global contexts." --Steven J. Heine, Professor of Psychology, University of British Columbia "Human developmental research is increasingly comparative, cross-cultural, and international. These outstanding researchers bring a rich, pluralist perspective alive in chapters that do not bracket context out, but richly incorporate context and meaning into our understandings of developmental stages, cognition, social behavior, and the desired outcomes of development." --Thomas S. Weisner, Professor of Anthropology, Departments of Psychiatry and Anthropology, University of California at Los Angeles "Bridging Cultural and Developmental Approaches to Psychology: New Syntheses in Theory, Research, and Policy provides a tour-de-force integration of cultural and developmental perspectives, producing fresh insights for theory, research, and policy. Away with meaningless distinctions and oppositions, this volume makes clear that any serious study of human development must integrate culture and developmental perspectives which invariably produces more than the sum of its parts. It is a must read for scholars and practitioners alike." -- Michele Gelfand, Professor of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park "...they do provide useful information for a reader who has little knowledge of the beliefs of a particular culture...there are some interesting discussions that will challenge student thinking." --PsycCritiques