The authors share the belief that there is great potential for developmental science in bringing the ideas of Niche Construction Theory (NCT), as developed in evolutionary biology, into conversation with Vygotskian-inspired theories such as cultural-historical and activity theories, distributed cognition, and embodied cognition, although from…

For over 50 years, developmental psychologists have conducted research around the world to understand the relation between culture and cognition. In fact, psychologists have been interested in this topic for over a century. In the late 1800s, Wundt introduced "Elements of Folk Psychology," the study of how culture becomes part of higher…

In this article, the author tries to piece together the context in which she wrote "Feminist Poststructuralism and Discourse Analysis" (Gavey, 1989). The article grew out of her attempts to find a different way of doing psychology, after 8 or 9 years of studying and wrestling with the discipline. It is partly a personal story, but also a story…

Explores different attempts to specify the supraindividual unit of analysis in terms of which culture's contributions to human development are to be understood. Traces the history and current usage of terms such as practice, activity, situation, and context. (BAC)

This article discusses the prevalence of violence in many media forms, including the Internet. It considers the role of the media in perpetuating violence and discusses the ways in which the media influence values and individual character development, particularly in children. (Author/JDM)

Explains that cultural practices appeals to developmental researchers as a construct that contextualizes development and provides a way of bringing together thinking, doing, feeling, and becoming. Describes five propositions in general terms and offers an indication of how the concept of practice has been translated into research. (BAC)

Shows how different relations between the adult and child and the learning environments they engender are closely related to the attitudes which the adult has developed within his/her own culture. Examines the conflicts inherent in education, which endeavors to transmit cultural values and promote personal growth at the same time. (AYC)

Outlines themes from L.S. Vygotsky's writings. His claims about the social origins of individual mental functioning have implications for the definitions of cognition and memory and for the pursuit of research on mental processes. His understanding of culture is derivative of his account of the mediation of mental functioning. (BC)

The author suggests that education, rather than being an induction into established ways of seeing the world, should be a context in which a person can begin the process of perceptual overhaul of it. New values related to the workplace are emerging and their impact on learning processes in the future is described. (Author/CT)

Proposes that the self is constituted in narrative and that development can be seen as the self's effort at rewriting its account of the world. (LB)

Provides an overview of the following article by Rogoff (PS523071) in terms of its focus and contribution. Notes the article's focus on the proposition that development is a process of transformation through participation in cultural practices, and that changes must be considered at three levels: personal, interpersonal, and community. (BAC)

Multiculturalism and its attendant meanings have undergone several metamorphoses. Among many reasons, rapid technological change, the media of mass communication, easy world travel, and availability of higher education are altering both the way individuals look at their culture and the way cultures look at the individual's sense of self, leaving…

This paper focuses on difficulties and possibilities of theory and research on emotional attachment in humans and problems associated with exclusive reliance on the Strange Situation procedure in cross cultural research. After specifying emotional consequences of qualitatively different attachment histories and appropriate ways of assessing their…

Laurence Yep's "Dragonwings" won the Newbery Award in 1976. It is the story of a young boy named Moon Shadow and his physical and emotional journeys between Chinese and American cultures. Through Moon Shadow's experiences upon entering the United States as an immigrant, the reader empathizes with him on 3 levels: the perception of…

This paper describes the experience of a Brazilian art teacher who relocated to Japan to teach. The paper focuses on the teacher's experience with Brazilian manners, Japanese culture, and art. It reports on her teaching experiences, such as her general aims in teaching, her recollections of several adult Venezuelan and Japanese female students,…