attachment - cultural variations in attachment Flashcards
Cultural variation definition
The ways that different groups of people vary in terms of their social practices, and the effects these practices have on development and behaviour.
individualistic culture
An individualistic culture is one which emphasises personal independence and achievement at the expense of group goals, resulting in a strong sense of competition
collectivist culture
A collectivist culture is one which emphasises family and work goals above individual needs and desires, there is a high degree of interdependence between people
Ainsworth’s findings: three main types of attachment
Type A: insecure-avoidant
These children explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour - no separation distress
Type B: secure attachment
These children explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver (proximity seeking-secure base behaviour) - moderate separation distress
Type C: insecure-resistant attachment
These children seek greater proximity and explore less so show separation distress by resist comfort when reunited with their carer.
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
Aim: to investigate cross-cultural variation in attachment using information from previous studies.
Procedure: Meta-analysis over the findings of 32 studies of attachment behaviour by examining over 2000 Strange Situation classifications in eight different countries
Results: Secure attachment – most common classification
Insecure-avoidant – next most common (in individualist cultures) Germany and USA
Insecure-resistant – next most common (in collectivist cultures) Japan and Israel
Conclusion: this study supports the view that attachment is innate and a biological process.
Italy, Simonella et al
76 12-month olds – Strange Situation
50% were securely attached
36% were insecure-avoidant
Increasing numbers of mothers of very young children use professional childcare so many children are used to being separated from their mothers
Conclusion: Cultural upbringing determines the attachment type
Korea Jin et al
87 children – Strange Situation
Most infants securely attached
Out of those who insecurely attached: most were resistant and only one classified as insecure
Similar to japan which has a collectivistic culture - Japanese children are very rarely left by their mother so the distress they show when she leaves is probably more due to shock
Conclusion: Cultural upbringing determines the attachment type
Strength
Large samples: Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s study used large samples.There was a total of nearly 2000 children. Large samples reduce the effect of anomalous results thus the study has high internal validity
limitation: Samples tend to unrepresentive of culture
Samples tend to unrepresentive of culture:
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s research was comparing countries, not cultures
Ijzendoorn and Sagi’s analysis
Tokyo – distributions of attachment type were similar to Western ones
Rural areas in Japan – more insecure-resistant individuals
Simonella et al and Jin et al’s comparisons have little meaning
limitation: cultural bias
Biased method of assessment:
Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s orginal research: High proportion of German children with insecure-avoidant attachment.
Methods used in attachment research and the theory are not relevant to other cultures
Lack of separation anxiety and lack of pleasure upon reunion – insecure attachment in countries like Germany may demonstrate independence than avoidance (which is expected/desired) and not a sign of insecurity within that cultural context
There is cultural bias into research studying attach,emt an imposed etic that a lack of separation anxiety and lack of pleasure on reunion is an insecure attachment
