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Family, Self, and Human Development Across Cultures

Theory and Applications, Second Edition

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Reflecting author Çigdem Kagitçibasi's influential work over the last two decades, this new edition examines human development, the self, and the family in a cultural context. It challenges the existing assumptions in mainstream western psychology about the nature of individuals.

The author proposes a new model — the "Autonomous-Related Self" — which expands on existing theory by demonstrating how culture influences self development. The development of competence is examined from a contextual perspective, with a view towards global urbanization which is creating increasingly similar lifestyles around the world. The implications of this perspective are discussed extensively, particularly early intervention policy implications related to promoting human competence in immigration and acculturation. Rich in both theory and application, each topic is introduced with a historical antecedent and earlier research before current work is discussed.

This new edition also features:

  • a new theoretical perspective that integrates cultural variation with universal human development trajectories in the context of social change, globalization, and immigration;
  • two new chapters on "Parenting and the Development of the Autonomous Related Self" and "Immigration and Acculturation";
  • a more student-friendly approach with boxed stories, summary and main point reviews, discussion questions, and an extensive bibliography in each chapter; and
  • a comprehensive glossary of all the book’s key terms for a quick reference.

Intended as a graduate or advanced undergraduate level text for courses addressing cross-cultural psychology taught in a variety of departments including developmental, community, family, and educational psychology, this comprehensive volume will also appeal to researchers interested in issues of human development in a socio-cultural context.

Table of Contents

Preface. Foreword. Introduction. Part 1. Human Development, Self, and Family in Cultural Context. Development in Context. Socialization for Competence. Culture, Self, and Individualism-Collectivism. Value of Children and the Family. Parenting and the Development of the Autonomous-Related Self. Part 2. Implications for Social Issues and Applications. Induced Change: The Role of Psychology. Intervention: Early Enrichment. The Turkish Early Enrichment Project (TEEP). Immigration and Acculturation. Search for Integration and Policy Implications.

Reviews

"This is a ‘must read’ book for cross-cultural developmental psychologists and those interested in the way data from the majority world can inform mainstream psychology." - Harry C. Triandis, Contemporary Psychology

"Her contextual-development-functional approach which links the child, family, and society as they are embedded in culture is one which those of us who are steeped in the Western psychological approach would do well to consider." - Editor, The Parenting Forum

"[…] a tour de force of integration and synthesis […] the book is readable, informative, and accessible both to researchers in the field of cultural and cross-cultural psychology and to college and graduate students interested in a broader perspective regarding human development […] Kagitçibasi has made a dramatic and valuable contribution to thinking about the individual, the family, and culture in both the Majority World and the West." - Kathleen Malley-Morrison and Andrea Mercurio, in PsycCRITIQUES