ABSTRACT
A mixed-method approach was used to explore parent and child perspectives on death in Mexico. Parents' and children's death-related experiences and understanding of death were examined. While all children in this sample displayed a biological understanding of death, older children were less likely to endorse that all living things die. Children also displayed coexistence of beliefs related to death that can be attributed to both their biological and spiritual understanding of death. We also found that older children were more likely to report that a child should feel sad following the death of a loved one. These findings highlight how cultural practices shape the development of cognitive and affective processes related to death.
Subject(s)
Attitude to Death/ethnology , Child Behavior/ethnology , Comprehension , Parents , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Mexico/ethnologyABSTRACT
The chapter explores how young children in the state of Puebla, Mexico are socialized with respect to death by observing and pitching in during the annual celebration for día de los muertos. This chapter focuses on observations made of children's participation in practices related to día de los muertos and their experiences with death as explored through ethnographic interviews of preschool children and adults from the cities of Cholula and Puebla. We found that children were included in all aspects of día de los muertos and participated by hanging out, observing, pitching in, and listening. Parents (and grandparents) viewed this active participation as crucial for children to acquire the skills and traditions necessary to be responsible adults in their culture. The current research provides new perspectives regarding the study of children and death within the field of developmental psychology by focusing on how multiple modes of participation are an integral part of young children's socialization with death.
Subject(s)
Anniversaries and Special Events , Attention , Attitude to Death , Cross-Cultural Comparison , Helping Behavior , Social Learning , Social Values , Socialization , Adolescent , Anthropology, Cultural , Ceremonial Behavior , Child , Child, Preschool , Communication , Female , Humans , Male , Mexico , ParentingSubject(s)
Attitude to Death/ethnology , Bereavement , Child Development , Cognition , Psychology, Child , Adolescent , Age Factors , Child , Child, Preschool , Culture , Humans , United StatesSubject(s)
Attitude to Death , Parent-Child Relations , Parents/psychology , Residence Characteristics/classification , Social Class , Adult , Anthropology, Cultural , Child , Child, Preschool , Counseling/methods , Female , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Male , Middle Aged , Midwestern United States , Qualitative Research , Residence Characteristics/statistics & numerical data , Rural Population , Schools, Nursery/standards , Surveys and Questionnaires , WorkforceSubject(s)
Attitude to Death , Child Development , Cognition , Literature , Parent-Child Relations , Parents/psychology , Child , Child, Preschool , Death , Emotions , Female , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Male , ReligionSubject(s)
Attitude to Death , Biological Phenomena , Child Development , Cognition , Causality , Child , Child, Preschool , Death , Humans , LifeSubject(s)
Attitude to Death/ethnology , Biological Phenomena , Child Development , Cognition , Mexican Americans/psychology , Parents/psychology , Spirituality , Adult , Catholicism , Child , Child, Preschool , Death , Emigrants and Immigrants/psychology , Female , Folklore , Humans , Life , Male , Middle Aged , Young AdultABSTRACT
Individual differences in the production and persistence of committing scale errors were examined in children (age range 18-29 months) attending a laboratory preschool. Miniature replica toys were placed in the classrooms during three 20-min observation periods for 10 weeks. The majority of the children (88%, n=24) performed scale errors providing confirmation in a different setting (than presented in previous research) that most young children commit these behaviors. Large individual differences were found in the frequency and persistence of committing scale errors. Extended exposure to the replica items increased the number of scale errors, though the frequency of scale errors decreased over the entire observation period.
Subject(s)
Child Behavior , Motor Activity , Space Perception , Analysis of Variance , Body Size , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Psychomotor Performance , Schools, Nursery , Sex Characteristics , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Scale errors refer to behaviors where young children attempt to perform an action on an object that is too small to effectively accommodate the behavior. The goal of this study was to examine the frequency and characteristics of scale errors in everyday life. To do so, the researchers collected parental reports of children's (age range = 13-21 months at onset) scale errors over a 6-month period. All but 1 of the parents (N = 30) reported at least 1 scale error with an average of 3.2 scale errors per child. These results suggest that most, if not all, children commit scale errors during early childhood.
Subject(s)
Body Image , Body Size , Discrimination, Psychological , Pattern Recognition, Visual , Psychomotor Performance , Size Perception , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Judgment , Male , Problem Solving , Sex FactorsABSTRACT
Six preschool classrooms, containing children between the ages of 4.0 and 40.0 months, were seeded with miniature items to examine how easily scale errors could be elicited. Observations occurred over a period of 3 months, with a total of 280 min of observations per classroom. A concealed observer documented all interactions with the miniature items. A total of 93 scale errors occurred, with a higher frequency committed by the younger children. These results confirm findings from previous research and suggest that scale errors can be effectively elicited in a preschool classroom. Our approach may provide a useful method for systematically studying the factors that influence scale errors.
