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Education, Learning, and Cultural Transmission

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Psychological Selection and Optimal Experience Across Cultures

Part of the book series: Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology ((CAPP,volume 2))

Abstract

Education represents the primary means of cultural transmission, and a crucial unit in the set of challenges human groups have to meet in time. A variety of educational systems and pedagogic strategies have been created in order to deal with this challenge. By promoting the association of their memes with individuals’ psychological selection, cultures can successfully survive in the long term, and at the same time support individuals’ development and well-being. Given the importance of learning for both individuals and societies, flow researchers have devoted much attention to its investigation. In this chapter, we will sum up major findings related to the quality of experience during formal learning activities across cultures. We will identify the activities associated with optimal experience, the contextual and individual factors favoring flow in education, and we will outline the short- and long-term consequences of flow in learning. We will conclude by stressing the active role of the individual in perpetrating cultural information and the importance of an educational system allowing for the integration of memes from different cultures thus sustaining plurality, complexity, and differentiation in a global society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche Luigi Saccos, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20157, Milano, Italy

    Antonella Delle Fave (Professor of Psychology), Fausto Massimini (Professor of Psychology) & Marta Bassi (Assistant Professor of Psychology)

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  1. Antonella Delle Fave
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  2. Fausto Massimini
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  3. Marta Bassi
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Correspondence to Antonella Delle Fave .

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Delle Fave, A., Massimini, F., Bassi, M. (2011). Education, Learning, and Cultural Transmission. In: Psychological Selection and Optimal Experience Across Cultures. Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9876-4_11

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