Question

3.       Briefly describe the sequences of psychological and cognitive stages during childhood and how they relate to a child’s understanding of death.

4.       How does the adolescent sense of invulnerability relate to the concept of personal death?

5.       Identify and define three theoretical perspectives on socialization, and discuss how they apply to learning about death.

6.       What are some of the messages or themes communicated in lullabies?

7.       Why is sensitivity to other cultural groups important?

8.       How might cultural diversity increase anxiety about death related attitudes and behaviors?

Answer 1

3.Briefly describe the sequences ...........to a child’s understanding of death.

Stages	Ages term	Cognitive development	Understanding of death
Piagetian perspective research	Preoperational 2-7	Think symbolically, ego centric, concrete appeals	Think it is reversible, they think the person has gone to sleep and will wake up
	Concrete operational 7-11	Begin to think logically(of the inductive variety), still concrete	Understand it is irreversible and think it’s caused by external factors
	Formal operational 12 onwards	Abstract thinking begins, reasoning and deductive logic are possible	Similar to adult’s understanding. They know it is irreversible

4.How does the adolescent .............. of personal death?

Adolescents are in the nascent stages of forming a self image. Most adolescents rebel too, in the process. This rebellion spills over to the death realm too. When faced with death, they may get angry or go into denial. They do understand that it is permanent, even if they haven’t seen anyone close die. Teens who face terminal illness tend to feel disconnected both from their parents and peers.

5.Identify and define three theoretical perspectives on socialization, and discuss how they apply to learning about death.

The functionalist perspective focused on the effects of social elements on society. To the extent that it adds to the stability, it was considered functional. If an element caused disruption it was perceived as dysfunctional.

Conflict perspective - The popular cliché of “haves and have nots” can trace its origins to this perspective. This perspective vies the society as made up of different groups and interests competing for available resources and power. In this perspective death serves as a distraction, to mitigate the feelings of under achievement or disappointment of the have nots.

Symbolic interactionist perspective -This perspective suggests that our sense of self is derived from our social interactions. The “Looking glass self” is a term coined by a sociologist who among others subscribed to this perspective.

The debates around euthanasia,. Palliative care in hospitals and hospices, death by informed consent made dqeath studies a subject of sociology.

6.What are some of the messages or themes communicated in lullabies?

Some were spells against evil spirits, some were promises ,some scared a child to sleep, some are of longing and there are those promise rewards if the baby sleeps soon.