Review of Cultural Practices as Contexts for Development.

Originally published in Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 1996, Vol 41(4), 396. Contributors to Cultural Practices as Contexts for Development (see record 1995-97387-000) examine an approach to the study of development-in-context that is grounded in the notion of cultural practices. These practices are defined as actions that occur routinely in everyday life and are shared widely by the group. The several writers contributing chapters here illustrate the conceptual and methodological practices of this approach as they are demonstrated in specific studies. Opening with a general introduction to the concept of cultural practices, the bulk of the text documents the following research: moral principles implicit in the practice of where family members sleep each night; development through participation in a sociocultural activity; identity formation among Indian Hindu adolescents in the United States; cultural practices and the concept of individual differences; and the history and current usage of such terms as “practice,” “activity,” “situation,” and “context.” (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)