Context shapes human development: studies from Turkey

Abstract

This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive perspective on human behavior by studying the role of the distal environment on developmental processes. Social class, or more specifically socioeconomic status, is an all-encompassing context that has great significance in engulfing human phenomena. This chapter first reviews extant psychological literature on the deleterious effects of low social class on development and presents three studies as cases in point, demonstrating the significant impact of the context and contextual change on behavior. Kağıtçıbaşı’s theory of family change proposes three models of family: family of interdependence, family of independence, and family of emotional interdependence. Parenting, however, directly reflects family characteristics. Thus family change theory has led to a theory of the autonomous-related self. The chapter also presents research illustrating the impact of the objective environment and in particular the detrimental effects of low socioeconomic status on various developmental, social, and academic outcomes of Turkish samples.