ABSTRACT
Cross-cultural comparisons of social behaviour can help identify the origins of social competence. Research can attempt to link the characteristics of a society to the social behaviour of its members. Such efforts have often been successful, as shown by some of the studies mentioned later in this chapter. However, cross-cultural research is also very revealing even if it emerges that a particular aspect of children’s social relations is no different in different cultures. In this way, universal, species-wide aspects of social behaviour are discovered. Results have indicated that there are a small number of ‘scripts’ for social interaction that are enacted by children of many different and distinct cultures (Whiting and Edwards, 1988). Children in all cultures appear to possess a desire to become capable individuals and to learn about themselves and social interactions (Edwards, 1986). Differences in culture can affect the ways in which children express their deep-seated need to become socially competent and the ages at which important milestones occur.
