Bridging Universal and Cultural Perspectives : A Vision for Developmental Psychology in a Global World

This article argues that now is an opportune time to draw together the accumulated bodies of knowledge in developmental and cultural psychology in order to build a new vision for developmental psychology scholarship that bridges universal and cultural perspectives. Such bridging requires rethinking (a) the entity of developmental psychological analysis, (b) the scope and meaning of developmental psychology concepts, and (c) the nature of theoretical frameworks. This rethinking will render developmental psychology more broadly valid across cultures and more applicable to local cultural conditions. This is imperative in an increasingly global world where diverse peoples interact more than ever. Although the present focus is on rethinking developmental psychology, conclusions about the implications of bridging universal and cultural perspectives may be of interest in other fields and disciplines addressing psychological thought and behavior. KEYWORDS—bridging; culture; development; globalization; psychology; theory I would like to thank my colleagues who took part in the Bridging Project (in alphabetical order): Jeffrey Arnett, Oscar A. Baldelomar, Xinyin Chen, Patricio Cumsille, William Damon, Ranjana Dutta, Constance Flanagan, Jacqueline J. Goodnow, Michelle Leichtman, Jin Li, M. Loreto Martı́nez, Jayanthi Mistry, A. Bame Nsamenang, Jean S. Phinney, Fred Rothbaum, Alice Schlegel, Richard Shweder, T. S. Saraswathi, Jaan Valsiner, and Yan Z. Wang. I am also grateful for financial support from the Society for Research in Child Development, the Köhler Foundation, and the Department of Psychology at Clark University. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lene Arnett Jensen, Department of Psychology, Clark University, 950 Main St., Worcester, MA 01610; e-mail: ljensen@clarku.edu. a 2011 The Author Child Development Perspectives a 2011 The Society for Research in Child Development DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00213.x Volume 6, Number 1, Since its inception about a century ago, developmental psychology has had the mission of describing, explaining, and predicting characteristics and processes of human development, as well as applying its knowledge to improve the lives of children and families. Over time, a large and important body of knowledge has accumulated. One legitimate question about this knowledge is how much of it is valid across cultures. Even in today’s globalized world, when it has become easier than ever to cross borders and access information from around the world, it is striking how restricted mainstream developmental psychology remains. For example, a recent analysis examined the nationalities of the samples included in research published in American Psychological Association journals from 2003 to 2007 (Arnett, 2008). For Developmental Psychology, Journal of Educational Psychology, and Journal of Family Psychology, a mere 5%–9% were from Africa, Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East. The vast majority of samples was from the United States (64%–81%), followed by other English-speaking countries (8%–19%) and Europe (8%–13%). Moreover, during the more extended period from 1988 to 2007—when globalization proceeded with hyperspeed—these numbers remained flat. As Super (2010) has observed, ‘‘We are still struggling to get ‘the child’ out of the confines of North America and Europe’’ (p. 1). If the intent of developmental psychology were to provide theories and findings with a primarily American scope, then these numbers might not give rise to questions. However, typically that is not the intent, and researchers often assume that theories, methods, and findings apply around the world, without corresponding evidence. If ‘‘the child’’ at the center of developmental psychology is American, how confident can we be in the universal validity of developmental psychology knowledge? A TIMELY OPPORTUNITY Rather than seeing this question in a negative light, it can serve as an opportunity to reframe and expand the mission of developmental psychology. Although research with culturally diverse