ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the role of social context in social cognitive development. It is proposed that analyses of social contexts should include distinctions in social environmental components corresponding to differentiations in domains of social judgment. It is shown that global characterizations of the cultural ethos of this society yield conflicting portrayals. Whereas some assert that the central ethos of this culture is individualism, others claim that the culture is exemplified by a bureaucratic mentality of other-directedness. We propose that these opposing views reflect stereotypes that fail to capture the heterogeneous social orientations of persons in this culture. We further propose a “domain-specific” view of social contexts to avoid the stereotyping inherent in global characterizations of culture. Evidence for these propositions comes from several research traditions. We also discuss recent supporting research on social interactions in early childhood and on children’s judgments about moral issues and interpersonal relationships.
