Cultural variations in attachment.

Question 1

Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) - Procedure

Answer 1

Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg conducted a meta-analysis of the findings from 32 studies of attachment behaviour. This involved over 2000 strange situation classifications in 8 different countries.

Question 2

Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) - Findings

Answer 2

They found differences were small, with secure attachment the most common classification in every country. Insecure-avoidant attachment was the next most common except in Israel and Japan, where insecure-resistant attachment was the next most common. Variation within cultures was 1.5 times greater than variation between cultures. The conclusion was that the global pattern across cultures appears to be similar to that found in the US, i.e., secure attachment is the ‘norm.’ The presence of these cultural similarities supports the idea that secure attachment is ‘best’ for healthy social and emotional development.

Question 3

Cultural similarities - Tronick et al. (1992)

Answer 3

Studies an African tribe, the Efe, who live in extended family groups. Despite differences in childrearing practices, the infants, at 6 months, still showed one primary attachment.

Question 4

Cultural differences - Grossman and Grossmann (1991)

Answer 4

Found higher levels of insecure attachment amongst German infants than in other cultures. German culture involves keeping some interpersonal distance between parents and children. This means infants do not engage in proximity-seeking behaviors in the strange situation and so appear to be insecurely attached.

Question 5

Cultural differences - Takahashi (1990) Findings

Answer 5

Found similar rates of secure attachment in Japanese infants to those found by Ainsworth et al. However, the Japanese infants showed no evidence of insecure-avoidant attachment and high rates of insecure-resistant attachment. In Japan, infants rarely experience separation from their mothers, which would explain why they were more distressed in the strange situation than their American counterparts.

Question 6

One strength of cross-cultural research is the development of universal principles of attachment

Answer 6

E: Posda and Jacobs (2011) note that there is a lot of evidence that supports the idea of underlying principles of attachment. E: For example, China, Colombia, and Germany all support the idea that maternal sensitivity leads to secure attachment. L: So even though the expression of maternal sensitivity and behaviors found in securely attached children may vary across cultures, the core concepts are the same.

Question 7

An issue with Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s research is that they were studying differences in countries rather than cultures (Van IJzendoorn and Sagi, 2001)

Answer 7

E: For example, a Japanese study found a similar distribution of attachment types to western studies in Tokyo, but an increase in resistant individuals in a rural sample (Van IJzendoorn and Sagi, 2001). E: These results demonstrate that ‘country’ and ‘culture’ are not the same thing and provide support to the claim that there is more variation within than between cultures. L: This suggests that cultural variations may not be comparing cultures after all, and that the term ‘cultural variations’ should be used with caution.

Question 8

A criticism of cross-cultural research is that the research ‘tools’ lack validity

Answer 8

E: The Strange Situation has assumptions that are specific to its country of origin (USA). It assumes ‘willingness to explore’ is a sign of secure attachment. However, in Japan, dependence rather than independence is a sign of this (Van IJzendoorn and Sagi, 2001). E: This means that research using the Strange Situation may lack validity in cultures other than the US and could result in the misclassification of attachment types.

Question 9

Another issue with cross-cultural research is the cultural bias of attachment theory - Rothbaum et al (2000)

Answer 9

E: Rothbaum et al (2000) claims that the attachment theory is rooted in American culture. E: Furthermore, Rothbaum found that Japanese children demonstrate an inhibition of emotional expression and a preference for group rather than self-oriented behavior. E: This suggests that the high levels of insecure-resistant attachment found in Japanese children may be the result of a cultural bias in attachment theory.

Question 10

What was the most common attachment in every country?

Answer 10

Secure attachment

Question 11

What was the next common attachment?

Answer 11

Insecure-avoidant in every country except Israel and Japan, which are two collectivist cultures

Question 12

What did the results suggest?

Answer 12

That the global pattern of attachment is similar to the US and that secure attachment is the best for healthy social and emotional development

Question 13

What AO3 are you using for Cultural variations?

Answer 13

May not be innately determined, they were studying differences in countries rather than cultures, the research ‘tools’ lack validity

Question 14

Insecure-avoidant

Answer 14

A type of attachment which describes those children who tend to avoid social interaction and intimacy with others.

Question 15

Insecure-resistant

Answer 15

A type of attachment which describes those infants who both seek and reject intimacy and social interaction.

Question 16

Secure-attachment

Answer 16

A strong and contented attachment between the infant and caregiver which develops as a result of sensitive responding by the caregiver to the infant’s needs. Infants are likely to be comfortable with social interaction and intimacy. Related to healthy subsequent cognitive and emotional development.

Question 17

Willingness to explore results in strange situation

Answer 17

Secure attachment (B) = High, Insecure avoidant (A) = High, Insecure-resistant (C) = Low

Question 18

Stranger anxiety results with the type of attachment in the strange situation

Answer 18

Secure attachment = Moderate, Insecure avoidant = Low, Insecure resistant = High

Question 19

Separation anxiety results on types of attachment in the strange situation

Answer 19

Secure attachment (B) = Some easy to soothe, Insecure avoidant (A) = Indifferent, Insecure resistant (C) = Distressed

Question 20

Behaviour at reunion with the caregiver results on types of attachment in the strange situation

Answer 20

Secure attachment (B) = Enthusiastic, Insecure avoidant (A) = Avoids eye contact, Insecure resistant (C) = Seeks and rejects

Question 21

Percentage of infants in category results on types of attachment in the strange situation

Answer 21

Secure attachment (B) = 66%, Insecure avoidant (A) = 22%, Insecure resistant (C) = 12%