Book Reviews
Abstract
<p>The importance of worldviews is considered in evaluating minority child development and socialization as viable alternatives to the mainstream Euro-American cultural perspectives. It is suggested that the Euro-American lens used to view minority groups is often seen as the only valid view and is disempowering. The goal of the editors and their sponsoring agencies (the American Psychological Association and the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development) is to “internationalize the field of developmental psychology” by seeking to understand the nature of behavior as well as the attitudes, customs, values, and cultural experiences that shape behavior within minority groups.</p><p>The volume is divided into three sections, “American Roots,” “African Roots,” and “Asian Roots,” and attempts in each chapter to investigate how ethnic cultures either adapt or deviate from U.S. culture, and to evaluate the impact of these adaptations on behaviors and experiences. The general theme is that the Euro-American pattern of socialization is but one conceptual system of developmental alternatives, and researchers need to collaborate to develop other viable alternatives. The existence of a dominant view or ethnocentric view continues to challenge the idea of “multiple perspectives” on development and socialization. The call for a holistic or synthesized