Understanding Intergenerational Cultural Transmission Through the Role of Perceived Norms

Intergenerational cultural transmission refers to the transmission of cultural ideas (e.g., values, beliefs, knowledge, practices) from one generation to the next generation. Among all available cultural ideas, which ones do parents select for transmission? As the recent normative approaches in cultural psychology highlight, cultural members do not just passively act out their internalized characteristics; they also strategically use their understanding of the culture’s norms to guide their actions. This essay elaborates the implications of these approaches for understanding intergenerational cultural transmission. The perceived norms perspective is introduced. This perspective premises that when selecting cultural ideas for transmission, parents consider not only their own orientations but also their perceptions of what is normatively important in the culture. It further states that parents’ reference to perceived norms is directed by the goals they hold. This essay discusses the contributions of this perspective to the study of intergenerational cultural transmission and identifies some directions for future research.