Drawing on ethnographic studies from the Makassar (Indonesia) and Tao (Taiwan), a novel theoretical approach to the study of emotion socialization is formulated, according to which emotional development consists of a two-step process: In infancy, caregivers elicit affective dispositions in children by using culture-specific, emotionally arousing strategies to prepare them for later lessons. In toddlerhood, these dispositions develop into socializing emotions which orient individuals towards sociocultural norms, values, and belief systems. Affective dispositions and socializing emotions have a considerable impact on emotional development in general. A mixed-method approach was applied combining methods from sociocultural anthropology and developmental psychology. Empirical data was collected as part of long-term ethnographic research using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The field sites were local villages with girls and boys aged 0-12 as the main research group.
The paper addresses the complex theme of culture understood as a dynamic, contextual, and relational semiotic process, which develops processuality through recursive cycles of crisis, reconfigurations, stabilizations, and further transitions. Culture is interpreted as a semiotic process of sensemaking that transcends the distinction between nature and culture, grounded in the complementary operations of both modus tollens (the pruning and reduction of potentialities) and modus ponens (the development and articulation of specific possibilities). The cultural process of sensemaking is viewed as a triadic activity in which the sign emerges from progressive interactions between the subject, alterity, and context, within a multidimensional topological field characterized by continuity and discontinuity. This theoretical perspective complementarily develops a morphogenetic approach and a textual approach , highlighting the importance of bordering, facing with limits and crises as processes that trigger cultural development. The perspective emphasizes the importance of observing emergent relations and dynamics, rather than merely contents, to understand the processes of signification in their constant becoming.
Sudhir Kakar leaves cultural psychology with the challenge to understand deep psychological complexity within cultural histories. A scrutiny of Kakar's contributions leads to highlighting the general mechanisms of symbolic remove and its ways of regulating two seemingly opposite human domains-love and violence. These opposite domains are generated through the same semiotic mechanism-- the hyper-generalization process of the symbolic remove resulting in extended affective sign-fields, and its parallel translation into regulation of actions. This mechanism makes both deep devotion (Bhakti) and extreme aggressive acts possible. Kakar's contributions leads to new allegorical bases for the study high-level affective processes for cultural psychology that in Indian cultural history is represented by the Kali/Durga myth story that makes the dynamic unity of opposites the axiomatic basis of the human sciences.
This study offers a narrative exploration of Arnett’s theory of emerging adulthood. Using narrative inquiry grounded in sociocultural theory of development, it analyzes written paragraphs collected from 50 college students, across two campuses of a public university in four sections of developmental psychology classes. Through values analysis, nine major values are identified as “organizing principles” in making sense of transition to adulthood: Self-sufficiency and freedom; Self-exploration; Family relationships; Macrostructural factors; Financial independence; College; Job experiences; Physical distance/separation from parents/family; Peer relationships. Sub-values reveal the pathways and processes through which each value was expressed and enacted. Values most emphasized by generational status and gender are explored, and attention is paid to the “relational moves” among values expressed by students to unpack the harmony and tension across value expressions. Young people navigate the tensions between familial and societal expectations and their own individual aspirations and endeavors at the nexus of gender, generational status, and unique personal, familial and social circumstances. This study contributes to research focusing on urban college students’ experiences of emerging adulthood and reveals the ways in which individual and social identities, desires and responsibilities are intricately intertwined.
This study explores social representations of the relationship between immigration and minority languages in the Basque Country and Catalonia. Using a word association task with a double stimulus, it analyses how these representations are discursively constructed and socially anchored in two diglossic contexts. Results reveal differentiated discursive patterns across contexts. In the Basque Country, discourses ranged from inclusive narratives of integration and coexistence, emphasizing empathy, solidarity, and cultural recognition, to accounts highlighting linguistic difficulty, sociolinguistic barriers, and critiques of institutional support. In Catalonia, clusters included defensive narratives framing the language as a source of tension and threat, inclusive discourses promoting mutual respect and cultural diversity, and pragmatic perspectives emphasizing institutional and community support. Discursive patterns were associated with national and linguistic identification, language use, ideological orientation, and perceived linguistic victimization. Findings indicate that social representations of minoritized languages in migration contexts are ambivalent, shaped by historical power asymmetries, identity processes, and institutional frameworks. Inclusive discourses are linked to strong subaltern identification and openness to linguistic integration, whereas defensive discourses correlate with low linguistic identification or conservative ideology. Overall, the study highlights the symbolic, relational, and instrumental roles of minoritized languages in shaping integration dynamics and social cohesion.
