RESUMO
We reexamined field data on cognitive performance in light of recent research that shows open-fire cooking--with its emission of harmful substances--to pose a risk to healthy physical development. Tests of three- to nine-year-old children in four communities around the world yielded evidence concerning block-building skills, memory, and the discernment of embedded figures. Naturalistic observations of these children were also undertaken in everyday settings. Open-fire cooking (as opposed to cooking on kerosene stoves) was associated with both lower cognitive performance and less frequent structured play at all ages. Although these correlational results do not reveal causal mechanisms, they are consistent with ideas about negative developmental consequences of exposure to open-fire cooking and suggest that research is needed on the effect on brain development of practices involving production of indoor smoke.
Assuntos
Poluição do Ar em Ambientes Fechados/efeitos adversos , Cognição/efeitos dos fármacos , Culinária , Exposição Ambiental/efeitos adversos , Incêndios , Belize/epidemiologia , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Feminino , Humanos , Quênia/epidemiologia , Masculino , Memória/efeitos dos fármacos , Nepal/epidemiologia , Reconhecimento Visual de Modelos/efeitos dos fármacos , Jogos e Brinquedos , Samoa/epidemiologia , Fumaça/efeitos adversos , MadeiraRESUMO
This study examined how societal changes associated with modernization are related to cognitive development. Data were from 4 cultural communities that represented a broad range of traditional and modern elements: the Garifuna (Belize), Logoli (Kenya), Newars (Nepal), and Samoans (American Samoa). Naturalistic observations and the performances of 3-, 5-, 7-, and 9-year-old children (N = 192) on 7 cognitive measures were examined. Results replicated age-related improvement on all measures. Contributions of modernity were evident in children's play behaviors and cognitive performances, especially in skills related to schooling. Modernization and schooling independently predicted differences on most of the measures. Results are discussed in relation to the Flynn effect, the worldwide increase in cognitive scores across generations, and the ways in which societal modernization may contribute to cognitive development.
Assuntos
Desenvolvimento Infantil , Cognição , Comparação Transcultural , Países em Desenvolvimento , Etnicidade/psicologia , Mudança Social , Logro , Fatores Etários , Samoa Americana , Belize , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Educação , Comportamento Exploratório , Feminino , Área de Dependência-Independência , Identidade de Gênero , Humanos , Quênia , Masculino , Rememoração Mental , Destreza Motora , Nepal , Testes Neuropsicológicos , Reconhecimento Visual de Modelos , Teoria da Construção Pessoal , Jogos e Brinquedos , Desempenho Psicomotor , Fatores Sexuais , Meio SocialRESUMO
Investigation was made, in three societies, of some psychological and behavioral correlates of husband's symptoms during wife's pregnancy. In general, men who experienced symptoms gave female-like responses on covert measures of sex identity and hypermasculine responses on overt measures. The hyper-masculine responses were interpreted as attempts to deal with an underlying cross-sex identity. In two of the three societies, male symptomatology was associated with father absence or adult male absence during the first 10 years of life. The findings indicate that symptomatology may be a useful cross-cultural measure of male cross-sex identity (Summary)
