Cultural Differences in Caring for Infants
The major assumptions of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development are that infants are active agents in
constructing knowledge and that the interaction of experience and biology leads to growth and
development. The cultural-contextual view agrees with these assumptions but adds two more: (1) other
people make active contributions to infant development, and (2) cultural practices, which reflect the
dominant beliefs and values of a culture, shape infant interaction with others and, ultimately, shape
cognitive development. Variations in sleeping and feeding behaviors reflect the role of infants in a culture.
Beliefs about babies in different cultures determine how they are treated, who interacts with them, and,
consequently, how babies experience their world.
Choose a culture other than your own, and fill in the chart with details contrasting how the 2 cultures care
for infants. Use at least 2 resources, cited using APA style, to support your assertions about the different
culture’s ways of caring for infants. Before completing this assignment, be sure that you understand the
definition of culture. Here is a resource that may be helpful.
What is culture?: https://carla.umn.edu/culture/definitions.html
Your references need to relate to concepts learned about culture and child care and must be
scholarly/academic in nature. Use of .com websites is not appropriate. Please see the Grading Rubric
below and be sure to check off all requirements.