Psychological Analysis: Cultural Variation in Child Development

This essay delves into the psychological aspects of child development, with a particular emphasis on cultural variations in developmental milestones and learning approaches. It analyzes articles by Sherwood (2019) and Mejía-Arauz (2007) to compare developmental patterns in different cultural contexts, such as Israeli, Chinese, Korean, and middle-class European-American communities. The essay highlights how cultural factors influence cognitive, social, and emotional development, as well as children's learning abilities. It also discusses the importance of providing children with opportunities to engage in community activities and learn from real-life experiences. The essay argues that psychological practitioners should consider cultural differences when understanding and supporting children's development, and that resources like Mejía-Arauz's article offer valuable insights for promoting children's well-being and learning.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Part 1
1. 5 W’s Framework-
Sherwood, S. (2019). What are the child development milestones?. Retrieved from
https://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/family/parenting/parenting-tips/child-development-
milestones5.htm
Who- At this stage, Sherwood (2019) in her article mainly involved young children of 2-3 years
of age by critically analysing cultural differences in milestones and their developmental areas.
What-Child psychologists like Sherwood has chosen her audience base of parents and
psychological practitioners.
Where-At this juncture, Sherwood has emphasized on Israeli children whose severe
apprehension towards unknowns serve as a beneficial factor to parents.
When- Sherwood aims to map into children’s physical, cognitive and social as well as emotional
development.
Why- The primary purpose of the article lied on varied psychological traits of children in English
and Chinese, Korean countries.
Mejía‐Arauz, R., Rogoff, B., Dexter, A., & Najafi, B. (2007). Cultural variation in
children's social organization. Child development, 78(3), 1001-1014.
Who-On the other hand, Mejía‐Arauz (2007) article has been primarily aimed for an academic
base and intellectuals from the field of psychology who show an interest in the cultural, social, as
well as collaborative nature of children’s learning.

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What- Mejía‐Arauz (2007) further has attempted to highlight variances in community activities
by highlighting events of children in middle-class European-American communities who tend to
be segregated from the array of mutual social activities and work.
Where-The article primarily based on Maya community in Guatemala and several other regions
of L.A, California and Mexico.
When- Mejía‐Arauz (2007) through significant cultural research have inspired vital innovations
in the institutes of children’s learning prospects.
Why-Additionally it has been noted that children of middle class background have been involved
in educators’ or parents’ learning techniques which separate them from effective actions of daily
life.
2. Psychological practitioners attempting to understand children’s cognitive development and
learning abilities must rely on Rogoff’s article as its offers inclusive insights supporting facts that
children regardless of any country or community deserve opportunities to be present in order to
study and learn ways to position themselves in the situations and further to acquire constructive
contributions to their families and communities.
On the other hand, Sherwood (2019) has provided credible evidences to the examples
mentioned in the article, thus increasing the authenticity level of the source.
Part 2
“Although a developmental advancement, lying is not generally admired by most
parents. Milestones can be distressing, such as stranger anxiety. But could there be an

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advantage to a strong fear of outsiders?”- The statement tends to exemplify the way deceitful
nature of young children has been refuted by parents. Meanwhile, Sherwood (2019) proficiently
has offered evidences of different countries where developmental progress of children vary as
per diverse cultural patterns affecting the milestone. Sherwood has emphasized on Israeli
children whose severe apprehension towards unknowns serve as a beneficial factor to parents.
Thus living on an isolated Israeli kibbutz tends to alleviate chances of young children to be
targeted by anti-social groups. Furthermore, by casting light on children developmental progress
in Western societies, Sherwood has been able to realize children’s high dependency on their
parents. Such psychological development however has been shaped by varied cultural
differences. article lied on varied psychological traits of children in English and Chinese or
Korean countries where a two year old of English nation primarily verbalizes 50 words while
Chinese children typically obtains greater number of verbs as well as social phrases from their
mothers or caregivers thus resulting to the rise varied kinds of languages (Sherwood, 2019).
“By contrast, children in middle-class European-American communities are frequently
segregated from the range of community social activities and work”- from the statement it
has been noted that children of middle class background have been involved in educators’ or
parents’ learning techniques which separate them from effective actions of daily life (Mejía‐
Arauz , 2007). Mejía‐Arauz (2007) further has attempted to highlight variances in community
activities by highlighting events of children in middle-class European-American communities
who tend to be segregated from the array of mutual social activities and work. The author has
efficiently attempted to develop a strong sense of every relative aspect of child development,
which incorporates the way children learn, think and develop their cognitive ability in addition to
their own initial personalities, characters and competencies in community activities.

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Part 3
“Another approach to learning, which is common in middle-class communities, separates
children from the range of family and community activities and instead presents exercises and
lessons in specialized settings such as school.” Mejía‐Arauz (2007) article has been primarily
aimed for an academic base and intellectuals from the field of psychology who show an interest
in the cultural, social, as well as collaborative nature of children’s learning in specialized settings
like school. Thus, by studying children’s development and living in communities that vary in
their cultural organization readers will gain comprehensive insights of child psychology. The
article show higher level of credibility than Sherwood as it has based its research on Maya
community in Guatemala and several other regions of L.A, California and Mexico have provided
comprehensive insights of children’s different learning nature of events occurring around them.
As Mejía‐Arauz (2007) has used authentic and genuine resources, the article can be stated to be
highly credible for future psychological research. Furthermore, the paper shows great
authenticity by providing insights for modifications in current practices in order to aid
communities highly conducive to children’s learning and well-being. Thus psychological
practitioners attempting to understand children’s cognitive development and learning abilities
must rely on the article as its offers inclusive insights supporting facts that children regardless of
any country or community deserve opportunities to be present in order to study and learn ways to
position themselves in the situations and further to acquire constructive contributions to their
families and communities.

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References
Mejía‐Arauz, R., Rogoff, B., Dexter, A., & Najafi, B. (2007). Cultural variation in children's
social organization. Child development, 78(3), 1001-1014.
Sherwood, S. (2019). What are the child development milestones?. Retrieved from
https://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/family/parenting/parenting-tips/child-development-
milestones5.htm
Tesar, M. (2014). Reconceptualising the child: Power and resistance within early childhood
settings. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 15(4), 360-367.