Attachment: Cultural variations

Question 1

What are cultural variations?

Answer 1

The ways that different groups of people vary in terms of their social practices, and the affects these practices have on their development and behaviour.

Question 2

What are the two types of cultures?

Answer 2

Collectivist
Individualistic

Question 3

What does ethnocentrism mean?

Answer 3

Ethnocentrism means seeing the world only from one’s own cultural perspective, and believing that this one perspective is both normal and correct.

Question 4

Who were the main psychologists involved in this research?

Answer 4

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg

Question 5

What was the aim of the study?

Answer 5

To investigate inter-cultural differences and intra-cultural differences within attachment types by using the strange situation methodology.

Question 6

What was the procedure of the study?

Answer 6

They completed a meta-analysis of the findings from 32 studies of attachment behaviour (over 2,000 Strange Situation classifications in 8 different countries). They wanted to see if there would be evidence that there were:
– Inter-cultural differences (i.e. differences between different cultures).
– Intra-cultural differences (i.e. differences in the findings from studies conducted within the same culture).

Question 7

What were the findings of the study?

Answer 7

• They found that differences between cultures/countries were small.
• Secure attachment was the most common classification in every country.
• The insecure-avoidant attachment was the next most common in every country except Israel and Japan (both classified as collectivist countries at the time of the study).
• Variation within cultures was 1.5 times greater than the variation between cultures.
• The conclusion could be that the global pattern across cultures appears to be similar to that found in the US.
• Secure attachment is the “norm”.
• This supports the idea that secure attachment is “best” for healthy social and emotional development.
• These cultural similarities support the view that attachment is an innate and biological process.

Question 8

What were the conclusions of the study?

Answer 8

These studies suggest that, despite the fact that there are cultural variations in infant care arrangements, the strongest attachments are still formed with the infant’s mother.

Question 9

In what country was insecure resistant the most common?

In what country was insecure resistant the least common?

Answer 9

Israel

Britain

Question 10

In what country was insecure avoidant the most common?

In what country was insecure avoidant the least common?

Answer 10

Germany

Japan, Israel

Question 11

In what country was secure attachment the most common?

In what country was secure attachment the least common?

Answer 11

Britain

China

Question 12

How much greater were intra-cultural differences then inter-cultural differences in their study?

Answer 12

1.5x greater

Question 13

What are the cultural similarities key study?

Answer 13

Tronick et al (1992) support this study with their work on an African tribe in Zaire, who lived in extended family groups. The infants were looked after and even breastfed by different women, but usually slept with their own mothers at night. Despite such differences in childrearing practices the infants, at six months, still showed one primary attachment.

Question 14

What are the cultural differences key study?

Answer 14

Takahashi (1990) used the Strange Situation to study 60 middle- class Japanese infants and their mothers and found similar rates of secure attachment 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 (32%). Japanese infants were particularly distressed when left alone (the study had to be stopped for 90% of infants). This cultural variation might be accounted for due to different child care practices. In Japan infants rarely experience separation from their mothers, which would explain why they were more distressed in the Strange Situation than American studies. This would make them appear to be insecurely attached.

Question 15

A03: Cultural variations

Answer 15

+ Large sample
+ Supporting research
- Cross-cultural research
- Countries rather than cultures

Question 16

A03: Large sample

Answer 16

A strength of combining the results of attachment studies carried out in different countries is that researchers can end with a very large sample. For example, in the Van Ijzendoorn meta-analysis, there was a total of nearly 2000 babies and their primary attachment figures. This is a strength because large samples increase internal validity by reducing the impact of anomalous results caused by bad methodology.

Question 17

A03: Supporting research

Answer 17

Tronick et al (1992) support this study with their work on an African tribe in Zaire, who lived in extended family groups. The infants were looked after and even breastfed by different women, but usually slept with their own mothers at night. Despite such differences in childrearing practices the infants, at six months, still showed one primary attachment

Question 18

A03: Cross-cultural research

Answer 18

An issue for research conducted in different countries is the “tools” that are used. Psychologists measure behaviour using intelligence tests or observational methods. These tools or techniques are related to the cultural assumptions of the test/technique “designer”. In the case of the Strange Situation (designed by an American), it is assumed that willingness to explore is a sign of secure attachment. However, in some cultures, this is not the case. In traditional Japanese culture, dependence rather than independence would be a sign of secure attachment. Imposed etic is the use of a technique designed in one culture but imposed on another. The result of this is that Japanese children may appear to be insecurely attached according to Western criteria, whereas they are securely attached by Japanese standards. This means that research using the Strange Situation may lack validity.

Question 19

A03: Countries rather than cultures

Answer 19

A criticism of van Ijzendoorn & Kroonerberg’s research is that they may have been comparing countries and not, in fact, cultures. For example, they compared Great Britain with Israel in their meta‐analysis. Within each country, there may be many different subcultures, each with its own unique ways of rearing children. Interestingly, the researchers noted that variance within countries was far greater than between countries. It, therefore, stands to reason that they did, in fact, collect data on subcultures within the countries they investigated rather than the whole nation.