DeLTA Center Roundtable Discussion - Dr. Catherine Tamis-LeMonda, Ph.D. "The Tension Between Cultural Relativism and Cultural Universality in Developmental Science"

Friday, September 9, 2022 - 9:00am
B70
Psychological and Brain Sciences Building

As developmental science seeks greater cultural sensitivity in measures, theories, findings, and so on, it is easy to lose sight of general learning principles that cut across all communities of developing children. If everything boils down to relativism, we can winnow ideas and findings down to the level of individuals in a way that says nothing about how development works. However, if we ignore cultural specificity and context, we are left with perhaps overly global and broad generalizations that may not apply. This roundtable discussion will reflect on these issues that cut across a range of studies to address several broad issues. First, much thinking in culturally relative processes relies on the assumption of mean differences in a phenomenon across populations or communities. However, a difference in the mean of two cultural communities does not mean the associations with other variables are any different (or processes of learning). Averages are not the same as association. Second, the quest for differences means we often rely on p values <.05, without realizing the null has important insights (e.g., the fact that processes and mechanisms may cut across communities and therefore do not differ statistically.) Finally, a study is defined as "cultural" ONLY if it is conducted in a non-white, non-English speaking, non-middle class group. We all do work on culture. every day. And yet, only certain studies receive badges of cultural honor. This roundtable will engage in an open discussion around all these issues to explore how to make developmental science both more culturally sensitive and more rigorous.