American ethnic groups are often thought of as discrete categories to which people belong and that explain some aspects of psychological functioning. However, ethnicity is a complex multidimensional construct that, by itself, explains little. To understand its psychological implications, it is necessary to identify and assess those aspects of ethnicity that may have an impact on outcomes of interest. In this article, the author examines 3 key aspects of ethnicity: cultural norms and values," the strength, salience, and meaning of ethnic identity," and the experiences and attitudes associated with minority status. These aspects are best understood in terms of dimensions along which individuals and samples vary, rather than as categories into which individuals can be classified.

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When we talk about American ethnic groups, what do we mean?

This article discusses a proposed interconnectedness between the ecologies of ethnic minority families, adaptive strategies, socialization goals, and child behavioral outcomes. The ethnic minority groups included are African American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian Pacific Americans, and Hispanics. Demographic information on population size, geographic area of concentration, and preferred identity terms is provided. It is argued that adaptive strategies, including extendedness of families and role flexibility, biculturalism, and ancestral worldview, emerge from the ecological challenges of ethnic stratification status. These adaptive strategies foster the child-rearing goals of positive orientation to the ethnic group and socialization for interdependence, which in turn enhance the developmental outcomes of cognitive flexibility and sensitivity to discontinuities among ethnic minority children.

Family Ecologies of Ethnic Minority Children.

Family psychology and cultural diversity: Opportunities for theory, research, and application.

This book offers the first detailed comparative study of the seven best-documented early civilizations: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, Shang China, the Aztecs and adjacent peoples in the Valley of Mexico, the Classic Maya, the Inka, and the Yoruba. Unlike previous studies, equal attention is paid to similarities and differences in their sociopolitical organization, economic systems, religion, and culture. Many of this study's findings are surprising and provocative. Agricultural systems, technologies, and economic behaviour turn out to have been far more diverse than was expected. These findings and many others challenge not only current understandings of early civilizations but also the theoretical foundations of modern archaeology and anthropology. The key to understanding early civilizations lies not in their historical connections but in what they can tell us about similarities and differences in human behaviour.

http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam034/2002074052.pdf

Understanding early civilizations : a comparative study

This article examines two contrasting interviews—with an Anglo and a Puerto Rican woman—and concludes that gender congruence does not help an Anglo interviewer make sense of the working-class, Hispanic woman's account of her marital separation. Both in form and content, her discourse contrasts sharply with an Anglo woman's account. The two women use different narrative genres or forms of telling to communicate their culturally distinctive experiences with marriage. In the case of the Puerto Rican woman, these differences result in major misunderstandings by the interviewer. Applying narrative methods to these interviews shows how closer attention to the voice of the subject can enrich qualitative research.

When Gender is not Enough: Women Interviewing Women

I. SETTING THE STAGE. 1. Diversity Among America's Ethnic Minorities. 2. A "Then and Now" Overview of the Immigrant Family in America. II. EUROPEAN ETHNIC MINORITIES. 3. The Irish-American Family, Ellen Somers Horgan. 4. The Greek-American Family: A Generational Approach, George Kourvetaris. 5. The Italian-American Family, D. Ann Squiers and Jill S. Quadagno. 6. The Polish-American Family, Helena Znaniecka Lopata. III. HISPANIC ETHNIC MINORITIES. 7. The Mexican-American Family, Rosina Becerra. 8. The Cuban-American Family, Zulima Suarez. 9. The Puerto Rican Family, Melba Sanchez-Ayendez. IV. ASIAN ETHNIC MINORITIES. 10. The Korean-American Family, Pyong Gap Min. 11. The Vietnamese-American Family, Thanh Van Tran. 12. The Chinese-American Family, Morrison G. Wong. 13. The Japanese-American Family, Kerrily J. Kitano and Harry H.L. Kitano. 14. The Asian Indian-American Family, Uma A. Segal. V. HISTORICALLY SUBJUGATED ETHNIC MINORITIES. 15. African-American Families, Harriet Pipes McAdoo. 16. Native American Families, Robert John. VI. SOCIORELIGIOUS ETHNIC MINORITIES. 17. The Jewish-American Family, Bernard Farber, Bernard Lazerwitz, and Charles H. Mindel. 18. The Amish Family, Gertrude Enders Huntington. 19. The Mormon Family, Bruce L. Campbell and Eugene E. Campbell. Index.

Ethnic Families in America: Patterns and Variations

I. SETTING THE STAGE. 1. Diversity Among America's Ethnic Minorities. 2. A \"Then and Now\" Overview of the Immigrant Family in America. II. EUROPEAN ETHNIC MINORITIES. 3. The Irish-American Family, Ellen Somers Horgan. 4. The Greek-American Family: A Generational Approach, George Kourvetaris. 5. The Italian-American Family, D. Ann Squiers and Jill S. Quadagno. 6. The Polish-American Family, Helena Znaniecka Lopata. III. HISPANIC ETHNIC MINORITIES. 7. The Mexican-American Family, Rosina Becerra. 8. The Cuban-American Family, Zulima Suarez. 9. The Puerto Rican Family, Melba Sanchez-Ayendez. IV. ASIAN ETHNIC MINORITIES. 10. The Korean-American Family, Pyong Gap Min. 11. The Vietnamese-American Family, Thanh Van Tran. 12. The Chinese-American Family, Morrison G. Wong. 13. The Japanese-American Family, Kerrily J. Kitano and Harry H.L. Kitano. 14. The Asian Indian-American Family, Uma A. Segal. V. HISTORICALLY SUBJUGATED ETHNIC MINORITIES. 15. African-American Families, Harriet Pipes McAdoo. 16. Native American Families, Robert John. VI. SOCIORELIGIOUS ETHNIC MINORITIES. 17. The Jewish-American Family, Bernard Farber, Bernard Lazerwitz, and Charles H. Mindel. 18. The Amish Family, Gertrude Enders Huntington. 19. The Mormon Family, Bruce L. Campbell and Eugene E. Campbell. Index.

Ethnic Families in America: Patterns and Variations.

Cross tabulations of Murdpck's world ethnographic sample : a reference handbook containing a complete set of all possible two-dimensional cross-tabulations of Murdock's world ethnographic sample, presented in 528 tables accompanied by paired tables showing the level of signifcance and coefficient of association for the relationship between each pair of variables

(1963). Critique of “Profession” as a Sociological Category. The Sociological Quarterly: Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 291-300.

Critique of “Profession” as a Sociological Category*

This article deals with funeral directing as it takes place within the context of a business operation performed in service establishments. As a business with professional overtones, funeral directing has before it the socially legitimate goal of profitable enterprise, and the successful pursuit of business profit carries with it in our society a fair share of social prestige. The critical problem of orientation from the standpoint of the funeral director is not whether he should make a profit, but in light of so many imponderables and variables that can affect vitally his pursuit of this goal, what scheme, what pattern of social and economic activity may he follow to ensure his success?

Robert W. Habenstein

Papers

Ethnic Families in America: Patterns and Variations

Ethnic Families in America: Patterns and Variations.

Critique of “Profession” as a Sociological Category*

Conflicting Organizational Patterns in Funeral Directing