Cultural variations in attachment

Question 1

Who conducted a meta-analysis of the findings from 32 studies of attachment behaviour?

Answer 1

van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988)

Question 2

Which is the most common attachment?

Answer 2

Secure attachment

Question 3

What was the second most common type of attachment?

Answer 3

Insecure-resistant

Question 4

Where were the exceptions for insecure-attachment not being seconf most common?

Answer 4

Israel and Japan

Question 5

Studies that support van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg

Answer 5

Tronick et al (1992)

Question 6

What did Tronick et al study?

Answer 6

An African tribe

Question 7

What did Tronich et al find?

Answer 7

The african tribe lived in extended family groups
the child was nurtured by many other women
However there was still one primary attachment

Question 8

What did Grossmann and Grossmann find?

Answer 8

Higher levels of insecure attachment amongst German infants that other cultures

Question 9

Why might there be higher levels of insecre attachment?

Answer 9

German culture involved keeping some interpersonal distance between parents and children

Question 10

What did Takahashi (1990) find?

Answer 10

• 60 middle class Japanese infants
• Similar rates of secure attachment
• However no evidence of insecure-avoidant
• Higher rates of insecure resistant
• Japanese infants distressed when left alone

Question 11

Why might Takahashi find these results?

Answer 11

Japanese culture rarely experience separation from their mothers

Question 12

What can we conclude from these studies?

Answer 12

Despite culture variations, strongest attachments are still formed with the mother
However there are differences in cultural attitudes and practices

Question 13

Similarities may be due to global culture

Answer 13

Attachment may be seen as an innate mechanism, unmodified by culture
- Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg carried out a metanalysis of 32 studies and concluded that at least some cultural similarities is caused by mass media
Not due to biological influences but global culture

Question 14

Cross-cultural research

Answer 14

Tools used to measure are different in each country
Methods such as the ones in the Strange situation are related to culture assumptions of the designer
Using the strange situation may effect validity in other cultures

Question 15

Culture bias

Answer 15

Rothbaum et al. (2000) argued that it isn’t just the methods used in attachment research that are not relevant to other cultures, but also th theiry because it is so rooted in American culture
More specifically differences in American and Japanese cultures