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Culture and Development

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Submitted By kwood322
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Culture and Development
EDU 305
University of Phoenix

Culture is defined as “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) All of these factors play a role in contributing to a persons’ culture. Customary beliefs are beliefs that have always been in that group of people. Some might say that they are similar to superstitions. Some people have superstitions about ladders, or black cats, or stepping on cracks in the sidewalk. These beliefs are passed down from generation to generation and can go back to the beginning of that group of people. Material traits are traits that people have within themselves that usually relate to their racial, religious, or social group. These traits can be personality, behavioral, beliefs, etc. Every group has material traits that can be associated with them. Culture plays a big role in influencing people. Culture can start to influence people as young as infants and toddlers. The influence culture plays on infant and toddler development can vary depending on the sensitivities of the child. The three main influences that culture affects in development are security, education, and socialization. The physical and social surroundings of a child can attribute to a child feeling secure in their environment or insecure in their environment. If a child feels secure in their cultural environment, then they are more likely to venture out of their culture to experience new things. If a child feels insecure in their environment, then they are more likely to stay close and be uncomfortable in large groups. If a child is secure in their cultural environment, then they have an easier time adjusting to the education aspect of their development. The educational influence of culture could either make the child broaden their horizons or it could hinder them from going forward. If a culture values education, then the child will have more possibilities to advance. With security and education, you can move on to socialization. If a child feels secure within their environment and their culture values education, they are more likely to socialize and go on to live a productive healthy life. If a child feels insecure and their culture doesn’t put a high value on education, then they are more likely to not venture out and socialize and can lead a less normal, healthy life. So learning these concepts at an early age will benefit the child from infancy to adulthood. In my opinion, nature and nurture both play a huge role in forming a person’s outlook on life. I believe that nature is more than just the biological aspects we are born with. I believe that it also encompasses the environment we are in from the time we are born until we go into another environment. Meaning, that nature would be the home environment and school or daycare would be the next environment where nurture would be seen. I believe that someone’s home life plays a big role because this is usually all that a child sees. How their parents or guardians, and other family members treat each other, interact with others, behave together, and the acts that they participate in all have an influence on how that child believes they are supposed to behave as well. For example, if a child sees that fighting and arguing and raising your voices is how you communicate with others, then they will use those methods to communicate with other people as well. If a child sees that respectfulness, and using manners are how you communicate with people, then they are more likely to use that method themselves. Nurture is also an important aspect in a person’s life. When children get to an environment where they can be encouraged and taught, then nurture is playing a part. A good example would be in school. When children enter school they are given different sets of rules and guidelines and they are encouraged to learn new things. This is a major part in development of children into adults. So in my opinion both nature and nurture are equally influential.

References
Culture. (2011). In Merriam Webster Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture

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