What is Enculturation?
Enculturation is the development and maintenance of necessary and appropriate behaviors to fit the norms of a given culture.
Why does Enculturation happen?
Parents naturally want their children to adopt the values and norms of their home culture, in order for them to be successful individuals in that culture.
What was the Martin and Halverson Study (1983)?
Aim?
The aim of the study was to investigate whether existing sex-typing schemas could distort memories of experiences that are inconsistent with those schemas.
Method?
Martin and Halverson’s study was a lab experiment. The participants consisted of 24 girls and 24 boys, all of whom were children aged from 5 to 6. They were separated and shown 16 pictures, each for a total of 10 seconds. In half of the pictures, an actor was depicted performing an action consistent with his/her gender stereotypes. In the other half, the actor was depicted performing an inconsistent one. Each child was asked to identify the gender and age of the actor shown in the picture, and rate how similar the actor was to the child. To assess which pictures they remembered most accurately, the children were questioned about the pictures one week after the initial session. This was done to evaluate the impact of the consistent or inconsistent photos. The children were required to remember the action being performed in a given picture, as well as the age and sex of the actor who performed the action in the photo.
Result?
The study found that both boys and girls were likely to incorrectly recall the sex of an actor who appeared in pictures where they were performing behaviors inconsistent with traditional gender stereotypes. In addition, the children were less likely to incorrectly recall the sex of an actor in pictures where they were performing the correct action for their gender stereotypes. Both boys and girls exhibited more confidence in their recollection of the sex of actors in consistent pictures than they did with ones in inconsistent pictures.
How does Martin and Halverson show Enculturation?
Through this study, Enculturation can be better understood. The children in the study adopted the culture of stereotyping both men and women, which explains why they were unable to recall photos that portrayed actions which were inconsistent with expected behavior and norms. Such a phenomenon is, typically, a product of keen observation skills on the child’s part as they mimic how their parents behave in conformity to their culture.
Potential SAQS:
(These are taken from Travis Dixon’s IB Psych Paper 1 Question Bank: https://www.themantic-education.com/ibpsych/2019/04/23/exam-question-bank-paper-1-sociocultural-approach/)
Explain one effect of enculturation on human behavior.
Outline one study related to enculturation.