Culture and early social interactions. The example of mother-infant object play in African and native French Families |
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| Authors: | Jacqueline Rabain-Jamin |
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| Institution: | 1. Université Paris V, Sorbonne, France
2. Laboratoire de Psychologie du Développement et de l’Education de l’Enfant, 46, rue St. Jacques, 75005, Paris, France
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| Abstract: | Data from cross-cultural studies on parental behaviour during early social interaction suggest that structural and universal features should be differentiated from culturally specific ones. No direct relations can be assumed to exist between specific forms of child rearing and development of skills in the child. However child rearing practices can have long term effects and affect social behaviours. As an illustration, we compare interactive styles of 40 French and African mothers living in Paris in an object play situation, with their 10 and 15 month-olds. French mothers’ interactions with their children are illustrative of tight connections between verbal and non-verbal behaviour. Action is the basis or anchor point for verbal exchange; and this repetition or verbal redundnacy yields discourse-on-actions which to a certain extent distances the action and allows for a generalization process to take place. In contrast, African mothers’ interactions with their infants present less verbal scaffolding of non-verbal behaviour. This type of interaction allows for a greater «disjunction» or separation of non-verbal and verbal communication. African cultures do not assign the spoken word with the educational function of structuring and planning activities. However, the models generated by the school system correspond to other types of obligations which are strongly affected by temporal perspectives. |
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