The Influence of Socioeconomic Status and Style of Life on Cognitive Development of Israeli Bedouin Children

Abstract

The effect of two social variables thought to be relevant to cognitive development was studied in a tribe of Israeli Bedouin undergoing acculturation. Proceeding from Berry's ecocultural theory, two social variables were derived from anthropological observations: socioeconomic status (SES) and style of life (SOL). Data were collected on 161 children using tests of Piaget's spatial concepts and conservation operations. The results substantiated the influence of SES but provided no evidence of any systematic effect of SOL on the cognitive development of Bedouin children. Consideration of the results of both the volume conservation test and the horizontality spatial test raised doubts about their appropriateness to the actual demands of the cross-cultural research.