2.8. Cultural Variations in Attachment

Question 1

Individualistic culture

Answer 1

Western cultures
Value independence and individuality

Question 2

Collectivist culture

Answer 2

Importance of the group characterised by the extent to which things are shared, groups live together etc

Question 3

Meta analysis

Answer 3

• Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg examined 32 in 8 countries of attached where the strange situation had been used to investigate attachment types.
• The 32 studies had data from around 2000 children
• Data meta analysed: results combined from the 32 studies but were weighted for sample size

Question 4

Findings of the meta analysis

Answer 4

• In all countries, secure attachment was the most common classification but it varied (75% in Britain, 50% in China)
• Insecure resistant was least common
• Avoidant attachment was more common in West Germany but rare in Israel and Japan
• Variation within cultures was 1.5x greater than the variation between cultures (in USA one study found 46% securely attached, another found 90%)

Question 5

Conclusion of the meta analysis

Answer 5

• The global pattern across cultures appears to be similar to that found in the US
• Supports idea that secure attachment is best for healthy social and emotional development
• These cross cultural similarities support the view that attachment is an innate and biological process.

Question 6

Tronick et al- Africa

Answer 6

Studied an African tribe
- Infants looked after and breastfed by different women, slept with own mother
- Infants still showed one primary attachment

Question 7

Takahashi - Japan

Answer 7

• Found similar rates of secure attachment in Japanese infants
• Japanese infants showed no evidence of insecure-avoidant attachment and high rates of insecure-resistant attachment
• Infants distressed on being left alone -> for 90% of infants the study had to be stopped
• Explained by different childcare- in Japan infants rarely experience separation from their mother. Therefore appear insecurely attached in Ainsworth’s strange situation

Question 8

Strength: indigenous researchers

Answer 8

• Indigenous researchers are from the same cultural background as the ppts e.g. Grossman et al used German researchers working with German ppts
• Using indigenous researchers aids communication between researchers and ppts and helps prevent misunderstandings
• Means there is a good chance that researchers and ppts communicated successfully, increasing validity of study
• However, this has not been true of all cross cultural attachment research
• This means some cross cultural research may have communication errors so lacks validity.

Question 9

Weakness: confounding variables

Answer 9

• Studies conducted in diff countries may not be matched for sample characteristics e.g. diff ages, social classes
• Environmental variables may also differ
• Means studies assessing attachment types carried out in diff countries may tell us little about cultural diffs

Question 10

Weakness: strange situation

Answer 10

• Using a test like strange situation in a different cultural context from the one is was designed in may be meaningless
• Strange situation designed in USA-> lack of affection = insecure attachment, but in Germany would be independence
• Means it may be meaningless to compare attachment behaviours across countries
• Imposed epic

Question 11

Evaluation extra: competing explanations

Answer 11

• Bowlby’s theory that attachment is innate suggests secure attachment is universal norm
• Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg suggest cross cultural similarities they found might be effects of mass media, which spread ideas about parenting so all influenced similarly across world
• Means cultural similarities may not be innate
• Hard to know if Bowlby’s theory is credible