ABSTRACT
Writing this autobiographical account of how I have become involved in cross-cultural developmental psychology is an insightful process of reconstruction and a learning experience for me. Some of the basic influences that have helped shape my current views on psychology in general and cross-cultural and developmental psychology in particular can be traced to my early experiences. It is good, therefore, that I was asked by the editors to start out with my family background and early years. What I will present here will provide the reader with an international and cross-cultural perspective, given that I am Turkish and have spent most of my life in Turkey. In retrospect, I can detect some profoundly important themes in my upbringing that have served and continue to serve as guiding principles in my life. Describing my early experiences in terms of these themes may help put my personal development and current world-view and academic orientation into perspective. One of these can be called "social commitment" and the other "achievement." They reflect both the strong socialization expectations from me as well as life goals I have set (internalized) for myself.
