CULTURE COMPONENTS AS A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT: Symposium, 1960: 3. THE EFFECT OF CHILD REARING ON BEHAVIOR IN DIFFERENT CULTURES

The opportunity to observe a great many children in various circumstances in different parts of Finland was afforded on visits made over a ten-year span. Social class, regional and ethnographic differences exist within the culture, the similarities between various subcultures are greater than the differences and their divergence from the American behavioral pattern is marked. It appears that child-rearing practices which emphasize more formalistic relationships and which play down or obviate the necessity for physical contact have fostered a quiet independence and have limited the number of socially acceptable channels for the expression of emotion in its various forms. One of the favored channels is the role playing provided by their indulgence in dramatic forms. It has also led to the paradox of there being a few Finns not only capable of, but admiring, extreme violence when their regard for external control is diminished, as in the use of alcohol, while the majority of Finns are usually most restrained in their behavior. It seems also to have encouraged the expression of personal needs through physical activity, as in competitive sports. Since these speculations are based on personal observations rather than on a controlled study it is suggested that there is a need for a more precise scientific inquiry into these factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)