Where children sleep

If you are teaching psychology, we all come across the idea of "sociocultural" differences in how people live and what their values are. Sometimes it is easy to get stuck in a mindset that everyone has a middle-class standard of living worldwide. After all, it's what most of us experience, especially if we rarely leave our communities.

The photo essay "Where Children Sleep" by James Mollison is a collection of pictures, both of children's faces against a white background, and their living quarters. Sometimes this is their own well-furnished bedroom, sometimes it is a shack that they share with numerous other family members. I found this to be incredibly eye-opening and a great discussion piece for my Human Growth and Development class. You can also see some examples of what "Industry" (as in, "Industry vs. Inferiority") means in different cultures.

This slideshow at the New York Times gives a caption for each of the kids and their living environment.

 From Mollison's site: a bedroom in Kentucky. Nice use of camo, by the way!

You can also buy the book at Amazon for a whopping $239.

I encourage you to take a look at this photo series and even share it with your class!