Nandita Chaudhary

Grandmaternal and maternal ethnotheories about early child care.

Parenting ethnotheories represent an organized set of ideas about parents, children, and development that are shared by members of cultural groups. Because these ideas and beliefs reflect cultural models and serve as representational frameworks for parenting strategies, they need to change with historical time. To analyze these changes, the authors interviewed mothers and grandmothers of 3-month-old infants in 4 different cultural environments--urban German middle-class families (41 mothers, 22 grandmothers), urban Indian middle-class families (36 mothers, 12 grandmothers), rural Cameroonian Nso families (29 mothers, 20 grandmothers), and urban Cameroonian Nso families (28 mothers, 12 grandmothers)--in regard to their ideas about infant care. The interviews were analyzed according to content and discourse style. The results reveal that there is not only transmission of parental beliefs from one generation to the next but also variation in adaptation to changing environments. Although the global trend toward more independent cultural models of parenting is confirmed, the magnitude of change varies across the different cultural environments.

Continuity in Parenting Strategies: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

This prospective longitudinal study is aimed at contributing to the understanding of cultural diversity concerning maternal parenting behaviors and conversational styles on one hand and continuity in parenting strategies on the other hand. It could be demonstrated that German middle-class families from Berlin and Indian Hindu middle-class families from Delhi represent two different cultural environments embodying different parenting strategies. The Berlin mothers focus on the cultural model of independence, whereas the Delhi mothers focus on the cultural model of autonomous relatedness. These different orientations are expressed in nonverbal and conversational behaviors with 3-month-old babies as well as in the play styles with 19-month-old toddlers. It could also be demonstrated that the parenting styles form continuous socialization environments. Especially the conversation styles that mothers use while talking to their 3-month-old babies were good predictors for the play styles with their 19-month-old toddlers. The results are discussed with an emphasis on parenting strategies as continuous and consistent cultural projects.

Mamta The transformation of meaning in everyday usage

In every cultural setting, language provides an essential framework within which reality is configured Cultural ideas acquire form and are sustained through language. The social fields created through chosen words and their connected meanings effectively function as key terms in defining cultural knowledge. Motherhood is an important role in Indian society. The eventuality of becoming a mother is of vital consequence, especially for Indian women, and much cultural content revolves around this issue. Consequently, the language of motherhood is also highlighted in everyday linguistic usage, in particular through the notion of manila. This article explores the everyday understanding of twenty men and women living in Delhi regarding the term mamta, set against the social role of motherhood in India. The findings of the study indicate a vibrant social space and personal attention dedicated to the notion of motherhood in general and manila in particular. Predominantly, mamta was understood as mothers love for her offspring-generated quite naturally through bearing a child-that is heightened in situations of vulnerability and need.In every cultural setting, language provides an essential framework within which reality is configured. Cultural ideas acquire form and are sustained through language. The social fields created through chosen words and their connected meanings effectively function as key terms in defining cultural knowledge. Motherhood is an important role in Indian society. The eventuality of becoming a mother is of vital consequence, especially for Indian women, and much cultural content revolves around this issue. Consequently, the language of motherhood is also highlighted in everyday linguistic usage, in particular through the notion of mamta. This article explores the everyday understanding of twenty men and women living in Delhi regarding the term mamta, set against the social role of motherhood in India. The findings of the study indicate a vibrant social space and personal attention dedicated to the notion of motherhood in general and mamta in particular. Predominantly, mamta was understood as ‘mothers love’ for her offspring—generated quite ‘naturally’ through bearing a child—that is heightened in situations of vulnerability and need.

Mothers and Others

Being a mother is a serious business in India, and much cultural activity is devoted to preparation for motherhood, a role that enjoys special status. This paper is based on the narrative of one Indian woman as she weaves her story of motherhood in response to interview questions. Kamlas responses bring out dramatic generalisations, serious presumptions and strong beliefs, all in the process of presenting her views. Kamla was selected for many reasons. She was enthusiastic to participate in the research, and requested a recording of the session as she wanted to preserve it for her grandchildren. She viewed herself as the custodian of the dying Indian tradition that appeared to be slipping away between her fingers as modernisation takes over. The discussion centred around the main themes emerging from her observations. It was argued that her views are neither contrary to the prevailing cultural beliefs, nor a minority voice.

Diversity, Definitions and Dilemmas: A Commentary on Helfrich’s Principle of Triarchic Resonance

Helfrich (1999) argues that understanding human psychic diversity requires a notion of culture that can attend to both cultural patterns and personal experience, to the fact of intra-cultural heterogeneity, and one that does not invoke old dualisms such as ‘us’ and ‘other’. It is argued that Helfrich’s triarchic model entails a view of culture as separated from tasks and individuals, which poses difficulty in explaining human experience. The model also omits interpersonal processes and the dynamics of emotions, values, and other social experiences. It is also argued that the meaning of constructs such as ‘intelligence’ should be reconsidered before cross-cultural validation is attempted. Finally, it is suggested that researchers consider the resonance between their scientific theories and ethnotheories in deciding whether a specific approach would actually explain the phenomena and the context to which a scientific theory is applied.

Memories of me: Comparisons from German and Indian students

The present study explores the dialogical relationship between autobiographical remembering, self and culture from a developmental and trans-generational perspective. It draws on a comparative design including self-describing memories of 10 Indian students from Delhi and 13 German students from Osnabrueck. Moreover, stories often told about oneself during childhood were investigated from the students’ as well as from their mothers’ perspective. Analysis revealed not only culture-specific ways of telling about one’s past that point to different prevailing socio-cultural philosophies, but also trans-generational similarities of stories repeatedly told to and about the child. The findings suggest that self-defining stories develop and are dialogically intertwined with the cultural narrative practices that children engage in during the course of socialization. Theoretical implications for our understanding of self-development are discussed from a Bakhtinian perspective.