Cultural Variations

Question 1

Where has most research into attachment been carried out?

Answer 1

America

Question 2

What do many researchers incorrectly assume about the research into attachment being carried out in America?

Answer 2

That it can be generalised to all people.

Question 3

What is an imposed etic?

Answer 3

The assumption that research can be generalised to all people.

Question 4

Define ‘etic’.

Answer 4

A worldview, usually culturally specific that is mistaken to assume that someone from another culture shares your viewpoint/way of looking at the world.

Question 5

Define ‘culture’ within this context.

Answer 5

The norms/values that exist within any group of people.

Question 6

Define ‘cultural variations.’

Answer 6

The DIFFERENCES in norms and values that exist between people of different groups.

Question 7

In terms of cultural variations, what is attachment research concerned with?

Answer 7

The differences in the proportion of children of different attachment types.

Question 8

List the characteristics of individualistic cultures.

Answer 8

• Value the rights/interests of the individual which results in a concern for independence and self-assertiveness.
• Small families.

Question 9

Where do we tend to see individualistic cultures?

Answer 9

Western cultures e.g Britain, America, Germany.

Question 10

List the characteristics of collectivist cultures.

Answer 10

• Value the needs of the group which results in concern for interdependence.
• Big families/communities.
• Works together and contributes to the good of the group.

Question 11

Where do we tend to see collectivist cultures?

Answer 11

• China
• India

Question 12

What 2 concepts did Ijzendoorn and Broonenberg research?

Answer 12

1. The proportions of secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant attachments across a range of countries.
2. Differences within some countries, to get an idea of variations within a culture.

Question 13

Summarise Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s procedure to carry out their research?

Answer 13

• Compared 32 studies of attachment were the SS had been used to investigate the proportions of infants with different attachment types.

Question 14

How many different countries were the 32 studies of attachment investgiated by Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg done in?

Answer 14

8

Question 15

How many children did the 32 studies of attachment give results for?

Answer 15

1,990

Question 16

What was done to the results of the 32 studies?

Answer 16

They were meta-analysed.

Question 17

Summarise the results of Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s research between different countries for secure attachment.

Compare Britain and China.

Answer 17

MOST COMMON

Although it varied between countries.

Britain - 75%

China - 50%

Question 18

Summarise the results of Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s research between different countries for insecure resistant.

Compare Britain and Israel.

Answer 18

LEAST COMMON

Although it varied between countries.

Britain - 3%

Israel - 30%

Question 19

Summarise the results of Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s research between different countries for insecure avoidant.

Answer 19

Most common - Germany.

Least common - Japan.

Question 20

Summarise the results of Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s research within countries.

Answer 20

• Variations between results of studies within the same country were 150% greater than those between countries.

E.G - a study found 46% securely attached infants compared to a sample as high as 90%.

Question 21

What % of Japanese infants were found to be insecure resistant?

Why is this?

Answer 21

27%

• Japanese infants are rarely separated from their mothers and therefore become more distressed when separation does occur.
• The Japanese do not value independence/independent exploration to the same degree that Westerners do.

Question 22

What % of Israli infants were found to be insecure resistant?

Why is this?

Answer 22

27%

• Israel children raised in Kibbutzim rarely meet strangers.
• Therefore, their high rate of resistant behaviour may have been more to do with heightened fear than the nature of their maternal bond.

Question 23

Which country can be used to contrast Japan and Israel’s rates of insecure-resistant infants?

Answer 23

Germany

Question 24

What % of German infants were found to be insecure-avoidant?

Why is this?

Answer 24

35%

• Many researchers have concluded that German and American infants percieved the SS similarly.
• The high level of insecure-avoidant attachments in Germany may reflect real differences in the way in which Germans approach parenting.

Question 25

What is one possibile explanation as to why German infants may be insecure-avoidant?

Answer 25

German culture has a strong emphasis on independence which may account for these differences.

Question 26

What research was carried out in Italy?

Answer 26

Whether the proportion of babies of different attachment types still matched those found in previous studies.

Question 27

How many 1 years olds were assessed using the SS in Italy?

Answer 27

76

Question 28

What % of babies were found to be securely attached in Italy?

Answer 28

50%

Question 29

What % of babies were found to be insecure-avoidant in Italy?

Answer 29

36%

Question 30

Give one explanation as to why the rates of secure attachment are lower in Italy compared to other countries. What does this suggest?

Answer 30

Due to an increasing number of mothers working long hours and using professional childcare.

Cultural changes can make a more dramatic difference to patterns of secure/insecure attachment.

Question 31

What study was carried out in Korea?

Answer 31

To compare the proportion of attachment types in Korea to other studies.

Question 32

How many children were assessed using the SS in Korea?

Answer 32

87

Question 33

What were the results of the study in Korea? Which attachment type was the most popular?

Answer 33

• The overall proportions of insecure and secure babies were similar in most countries, with most being secure.
• Of the insecure attached children, only 1 was insecure-AVOIDANT.

Question 34

The distribution of results of the study in Korea are similar to which other country?

Answer 34

• Japan
• Japan and Korea have similar parenting styles which could explain these similarities.

Question 35

What conclusions can be drawn from all of these studies?

Answer 35

Attachment is the norm in a variety of cultures - supports the idea that attachment is innate and universal.

Question 36

What has an influence on attachment type?

Answer 36

Cultural practices.

Question 37

List the 2 strengths of cultural variations research.

Answer 37

1. Evaluating meta analysis.
2. Indigenous theory.

Question 38

List the 4 limitations of cultural variations research.

Answer 38

1. Evaluating meta analysis.
2. Imposed etic.
3. Countries not cultures.
4. Similiarities not innately determined.

Question 39

Summarise the strength ‘evaluating meta analysis.’

Answer 39

• Population validit is usually high as the sample size is much greater; makes the sample more representative meaning the results are more likely to be more generalisable to large numbers of people.
• Any individual differences/anomalies are more likely to be reduced/minimised in such a large sample which enhances validity; this allows for us to reach overall conclusions by assessing many different findings + being able to statistically test them.
• It is ethically sound as it uses secondary data meaning that no more children had to be put through the potentially traumatising SS.

Question 40

Summarise the strength ‘indigenous theories’.

Answer 40

• There have been suggestions that reasearch on cultural variations is beneficial as it allows for psychologists to produce indigineous theories; explanations of attachment rooted in individual cultures.
• HOWEVER, there is research that there is a lot of evidence from many different countries that supports that universality of attachment.
• Therefore, whilst there may be differences in the expressions of maternal sensitivity and secure-base behaviour across cultures; the core concepts may be universal.

Question 41

Summarise the limitation ‘imposed etic’.

Answer 41

• Issue of validity when using the SS to measure attachment type in other cultures; this is because it is designed by an American and is related to the cultural assumptions of the American researcher.
• Trying to apply a theory/technique designed for on culture to another is known as ‘imposed etic’ which disregards cultural uniqueness.
• EG - in individualistic cultures dependence rather than idependence would be seen as a sign of secure attachment.
• As a result of imposed etic, Japanese infants may appear insecurely attached according to Western criteria, whereas they are securely attached by Japanese standards, thus casting doubt on the validity of the tool used.

Question 42

Summarise the limitaiton ‘evaluating meta analysis’.

Answer 42

• Using secondary data means that researchers cannot fully control all of the variables in the study and they place a lot of trust in the original researchers’ methodology.
• There may have been some errros in the studies which have not been recognised in the publications of their research; this will affect the validity of the final meta-analyssi conclusions.
• In some countires, Ijzendoorn only looked at a small number of studies e.g 1 in Japan and 18 in America meaning the results for these may not be truly representative and may not generalise to country at large.

Question 43

Summarise the limitation ‘countries not cultures’.

Answer 43

• Within each country tested, there can be many different subcultures with different childcare practices; the study did not account for this.
• In Tokyo, the distribution of attachment was quite similar to Western studies, whilst a more rural sample in Japan found an over-representation of insecure-resistant individuals.
• Therefore, it is possible that the reason the original study found more variation within cultures than between cultures is because the data was collected on different subcultures within each country.

Question 44

Summarise the limitation ‘similarities not innatley determined’.

Answer 44

• Bowlby argeud that the reason for universal similarities in forming attachments is because attachment is innate and therefore unaffected by culture.
• Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg argue that at least some cultural similarities may be explained by the effects of mass media e.g books/films that spread ideas about parenting means that children all over the world are exposed to similar influences.
• Therefore, cultural similarities might not be due to innate differences but are because of an increasingly global culture.