Lives Across Cultures: Cross-Cultural Human Development [Paperback]

Harry W. Gardiner (Author), Corinne Kosmitzki (Author), Corrine Kosmitzki (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0205191827 | ISBN-13: 978-0205191826 | Publication Date: July 2001 | Edition: 1

This classic textbook brings a cross-cultural dimension to the study of human development across the lifespan. It focuses on major developmental topics and provides a global and multicultural perspective by introducing the reader to contemporary and classical research.*Utilizes a cross-cultural perspective to provide opportunities to expand awareness and sensitivity to global similarities and differences in human development thereby reducing ethnocentric thinking. *Emphasizes cultural-ecological and developmental contextual models that recognize bi-directional or reciprocal influences of individuals and their surrounding environments. Particular attention is given to Bronfenbrenners ecological systems approach and Supers and Harkness developmental niche concept. *Discusses chronological-within-topics issues. Cross-cultural research is organized chronologically to demonstrate how behavioral processes evolve and change as individuals in a variety of cultures pass from infancy and childhood through adolescence and into adulthood and old age. *Opens each chapter with vignettes of two individuals from different geographical areas of the world who illustrate one or more of the behaviors described in the chapter. *Features recurring themes throughout each chapter, continually woven into the narrative, to provide a comprehensive and cohesive understanding of development. *Contains the most up-to-date examples of cross-cultural research findings. *Concludes each chapter with sections entitled "Things To Do and Think About" which consist of thought-provoking questions and simple projects to encourage readers to engage in active observation of developmental principles, frequently from a cross-cultural perspective. *Includes annotated recommendations for further reading. The books suggested are carefully selected for their ability to expand on topics covered in each chapter as well as for their interesting and often amusing writing style.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Covering all of the major developmental topics from cradle to grave, they take the reader through the labyrinth of lives that work and play and, unfortunately, fight through occasional major crises and the vexing problems of growing up. The style and tone of the book is genuinely comfortable. Reading it is like having a friendly dialogue with gentle and caring friends.”

 

From the Forward by Walter J. Lonner

Western Washington University

 

 

“To our knowledge this book has no competition, and is unique … It is unusual for a book to change a curriculum, but rather than being written to fill a demand for classes in cross-cultural human development, it appears that these courses are being created at various universities because Gardiner and Kozmitzki published this text … As Lonner writes in the foreword, the field is changing quickly and significantly, and LAC is in great hands as Gardiner and Kosmitzki reflect this change in each new edition.”

 

David W. Shwalb and Barbara J. Shwalb

Southeastern Louisiana University

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

The primary goal of this book is to bring a cross-cultural dimension to the study of human development across the lifespan. This book focuses on major developmental topics and provides a global and multicultural perspective by introducing the reader to contemporary and classical research. Topics include: cultural aspects of physical growth and development; culture and cognition; culture, self, and personality; culture issues of sex and gender; and more. Cultural psychologists and anthropologists.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon; 1 edition (July 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0205191827
• ISBN-13: 978-0205191826
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,132,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Harry Gardiner is retired from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse where he taught for more than 25 years. He has degrees from American International College, the University of Hawaii, and Manchester University in England, where he met his future wife, who was from Thailand. He chased her to Asia, where they married and moved to the United States two years later. He often says that he "grew up" in an Asian American family in which his wife was Asian, he was American, and their children were Asian American and he was the minority--"the one with the blond hair and the blue eyes!" He was a charter member of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, served as president of the Society for Cross-Cultural Research and is a consulting editor for the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. In addition to publishing articles in a wide variety of journals and participating in national and international meetings, he has coauthored a number of chapters on cross-cultural topics for other books. He has engaged in training, teaching, and research in Europe, Asia, and the United States. In his "spare time" he enjoys writing for Cobblestone, a history magazine for young children, and has contributed interviews with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Muppet creator Jim Henson, Tom Rockwell, son of the artist Norman Rockwell and author of the popular book "How to Eat Fried Worms," among others. He enjoys watching the development of his four young grandchildren as they navigate a much more culturally diversified world than he experienced at their ages. The photo to the right shows him at the age of two "working" on one of his first books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stands alone as the cross-cultural developmental text book, March 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lives Across Cultures: Cross-Cultural Human Development (Paperback)

I just got this book from the publisher and have decided to use it for my cross-cultural development class. No other book that I have found does an even remotely adequate job of combining cross-cultural research and human development. Teaching this class should be a lot easier.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun reading for a textbook!, December 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Lives Across Cultures: Cross-Cultural Human Development (Paperback)

I have used this book as a textbook in a sophmore - junior - senior level university course in cross-cultural psychology. It is so readable, that students report that they read ahead just for fun. Recommended for anyone interested in how culture affects our lives.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars easy to understand with many interesting stories, March 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lives Across Cultures: Cross-Cultural Human Development (Paperback)

I have read that book and I found many interesting stories about how culture affect our live which I've never imagine it before and I learn a lot about many different unique cultures around the world and if you want to know more detail about culture differences and compare them, you should read this book.