cultural variations in attachment

Question 1

name the 2 types of culture

Answer 1

• individualist
• collectivist

Question 2

what’s meant by individualist culture

Answer 2

stress needs of individual over group

Question 3

what’s meant by collectivist culture

Answer 3

based on valuing needs of group/community over individual

Question 4

list examples of individualist cultures

Answer 4

eg. USA, UK, germany, australia

Question 5

list examples of collectivist cultures

Answer 5

eg. japan, china, india

Question 6

name those who conducted the main study for cultural variations in attachment

Answer 6

van Ijzendoorn & kroonenberg

Question 7

aim of main study

Answer 7

investigate cultural differences in attachment types

Question 8

method of main study

Answer 8

• large scale meta-analysis
• analysed results of 32 separate studies in 8 countries (used ainsworth’s strange situation)
• 8 countries = GB, sweden, japan, netherlands, US, israel, germany & china
• total = 1990 babies were studied

Question 9

findings of main study

Answer 9

• secure attachment most common in all countries
• individualist cultures = insecure-resistant attachment rates similar to ainsworth’s original sample (under 14%)
• collectivist samples (china, japan & israel) = insecure-resistant rates above 25%
• germany had highest % of insecure-avoidant = ~34%
• israel had highest % of insecure-resistant= ~30%
• secure for GB = 75% compared to 50% in china
• insecure-resistant = 3% for GB & 30% for israel
• GB approx. = 75% secure, 3% resistant & 22% avoidant

Question 10

reason for GB results

Answer 10

(approx. = 75% secure, 3% resistant & 22% avoidant)
- individualist culture = encourage independence/exploration
- many in day care & not used to strangers = secure & separation behaviour

Question 11

reason for japan results

Answer 11

(approx. = 69% secure, 5% avoidant & 26% resistant)
- collectivist culture
- rarely left by mother so distress shown if mum leaves
- distress/upset shown with stranger likely due to mothers absence

Question 12

reason for germany results

Answer 12

(approx. = 57% secure, 34% avoidant & 9% resistant)
- grossman et. al (1985) says german parents seek independent & non-clingy children = core values

Question 13

conclusion of main study

Answer 13

• overall consistency in secure attachment types leads to conclusion that there may be universal (innate) characteristics underpinning infant/caregiver interactions
• however, significant variations of insecure attachments show universality is limited & implications include linking of variation in attachment to child-rearing practices & environmental factors

Question 14

describe an interesting finding of main study

Answer 14

variations between results of studies within same country were 150% greater than those between countries eg. in US, 1 study found 46% secure attached compared to 1 sample as high as 90%

Question 15

name 2 other studies of cultural variation

Answer 15

italian = simonelli et al. (2014)
korean = jin et al. (2012)

Question 16

who conducted the italian study

Answer 16

simonelli et. al (2014)

Question 17

aim of italian study

Answer 17

see whether proportions of babies of different attachment types are same as previous studies

Question 18

procedure of italian study

Answer 18

• conducted in italy 2014
• used 76 12-month old babies
• used ainsworths strange situation

Question 19

findings of italian study

Answer 19

• 50% secure (lower)
• 36% insecure-avoidant (higher)
• suggests mothers work long hours & use professional childcare

Question 20

conclusions of italian study

Answer 20

patterns of attachment types aren’t static but vary in line with cultural change

Question 21

who conducted the korean study

Answer 21

jin et al. (2012)

Question 22

aim of korean study

Answer 22

compare proportions of attachment types in korea to other studies

Question 23

procedure/method of korean study

Answer 23

• 87 children
• used ainsworths strange situation

Question 24

findings of korean study

Answer 24

• proportions of secure & insecure broadly similar to those in most countries
• most babies secure
• more of those classed as insecure were insecure-resistant
• one baby was avoidant
• results similar to japan in van ijzendoorn & kroonenberg (1988)

Question 25

conclusion of korean study

Answer 25

similar child rearing style in japan & korea could of caused similar results

Question 26

overall conclusion

Answer 26

secure attachment is norm in wide range of cultures which supports bowlbys idea that attachment is innate & universal
however, research clearly shows cultural practices have influence on attachment type

Question 27

AO3

Answer 27

+)
P: majority of studies were conducted using indigenous psychologists
E: eg. van ijzendoorn & kroonenberg included research by a german team (grossman et al 1981) & a japanese team (keiko takahashi 1986). this type of research allows many of potential problems in cross-cultural research to be avoided - eg. researchers misunderstanding language used by participants, bias due to a nations stereotype of another
T: thus, there’s an good chance the researchers/participants communicated successfully which enhances data’s validity
COUNTERPOINT
-)
P: not true of all cross-cultural research
E: eg. morelli & tronick (1991) were outsiders from america when they studied child-rearing & patterns of attachment in efe of zaire. their data may have been affected by difficulties in gathering participants data outside own culture
T: means data from some countries may’ve been affected by bias & difficulty with cross-cultural contamination

-)
P: impact of confounding variables
E: studies conducted within different countries don’t usually match for methodology when compared in meta-analyses. sample characteristics (eg. poverty), social class & urban/rural make up can confound results alongside age of participants studied. environmental variables may also differ & confound results - eg. size of room & availability of interesting toys (babies may explore more in smaller rooms with lots of toys). also, less visible proximity-seeking due to room size may make a child appear avoidant
T: this means that looking at attachment behaviour in non-matched studies conducted in different countries may not tell us anything about cross-cultural patterns of attachment

-)
P: imposing a test designed for western culture onto another one
E: cross-cultural psychology includes idea of emic & etic. imposed etic occurs when it’s assumed an idea/technique that works in 1 cultural context will work in another - eg. in attachment research when the babies response to reunion is observed in the strange situation. in britian & the US, lack of reunion may indicate avoidance but in germany, it may be interpreted as independence not insecurity - thus, part of strange situation may not work in germany
T: this means that behaviour measured by the strange situation may not have same meanings in different cultural contexts & comparing them across cultures is meaningless

Question 28

emic v. etic

Answer 28

emic = cultural uniqueness
etic = cross-cultural universality