Cultural Variations

Question 1

Why did ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg conduct a study?

Answer 1

to look at the proportions of secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant attachment across a range of countries

Question 2

How many studies did ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg use?

Answer 2

They located 32 studies of attachment where the Strange Situation had been used to investigate the proportions of infants with different attachment type.

Question 3

What was the most common classification in ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg Findings?

Answer 3

-They found that in all countries secure attachment was the most common classification which is Britain was 75% and in China was 50%.

Question 4

Why is the methodology used by Van Ljzendoorn a criticism of research into cultural variation in attachment?

Answer 4

because they used the Strange Situation in their meta-analysis and their research highlights culture bias as they reported significant differences in the distribution of attachment types in different cultures

Question 5

The example used in methodology criticism

Answer 5

• Germany had the highest rate of insecure-avoidant attachment which may be the result of different childrearing practices and not a more insecure population.
• In Germany, there is a tendency to keep some distance between parents and infants and therefore parents would discourage proximity seeking behaviours and this may affect the results of attachment research in Germany leading to an incorrect classification of insecure-avoidant

Question 6

Ending sentence in methodology

Answer 6

This is a weakness as the methodology used in their analysis demonstrates a clear culture bias making the application and generalisation of their findings to other cultures questionable

Question 7

Why are unrepresentative samples used in research into cultural variation a limitation?

Answer 7

• because the meta-analysis used by Van ijzendoorn claimed to study cultural variation whereas the comparisons were between countries not cultures.
• Within any country there are many different cultures with different childrearing practices.
• One sample may have overrepresented people living with poverty and the stress may affect caregiving and hence patterns of attachment.

Question 8

Unrepresentative Sample closing sentence

Answer 8

This is an issues as the comparison between countries may have little meaning and the particular cultural characteristics of the sample need to be specified.

Question 9

What countries did ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg the meta-analysis use?

Answer 9

The 32 studies were conducted in 8 countries; 15 were in the USA and overall the 32

Question 10

How much did Ljzendoorn and Kroonberg meta-analysis yield?

Answer 10

1990

Question 11

What happened to data for the 32 studies?

Answer 11

The data for these 32

studies were meta analysed, results being combined and weighted for sample size.

Question 12

What was the least common classification in ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg Findings?

Answer 12

-Insecure-resistant was overall the least common type with proportions raging from 3% in Britain and 30% in Israel.

Question 13

Where was the insecure-avoidant classification in ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg Findings most common?

Answer 13

Insecure-avoidant attachments were observed most commonly in Germany and least commonly in Japan.