The Motivational Force of Cultural Schemas behind Reproductive Health Behaviour in South India

Inge Hutter, University of Groningen

The paper discusses how cultural schemas motivate reproductive health behaviour in South India and combines a theoretical framework of cognitive anthropology (D’Andrade 1984; 1992; 1995) with empirical data collected during years of fieldwork. Within cognitive anthropology, schemas are seen as goals and to motivate behaviour of people. Schemas form ‘the person’s internal representation of his environment’ (D’Andrade 1992, p.33). The paper focuses on two important cultural schemas underlying reproductive health behaviour of women in Indian society, i.e. the schemas on heating-cooling and on purity-pollution. Reproductive health behaviour here refers to the use of contraceptives, abortion, fecundity, menstruation, sexuality, pregnancy and delivery. Several aspects of cultural schemas, illustrated with empirical data, are dealt with such as embedding of schemas in cultural meaning systems; enhancement of social status; development of health educational material.