Attachments L9 - 11 Flashcards
What does culture refer to?
Norms and values that exist within any group of people
What does subculture refer to?
Group within a country that may have special different characteristics
What is one key difference between cultures, what is this and what countries often display this?
- Individualistic (Western countries) = Value independence + importance of individual
- Collectivist (non-Western countries) = Value interdependence + importance of grp
What are the key cultural variation studies, where were they done and in what years?
- Ainsworth (1967) in Uganda
- Simonella (2014) in Italy
- Jin et al (2012) in South Korea
- Tronick et al (1992) in Africa
- Takahashi (1990) in Japan
- Grossman and Grossman (1991) in Germany
Ainsworth (1967) in Uganda:
- 1954 –> 2 yr naturalistic observation of mother-infant interactions
- 26 mothers + infants
- Living in 6 villages around Kampala
- More sensitive mothers tended to have securely attached infants
Simonella (2014) in Italy:
- Sample of 76
- 1 yr olds
- Strange Situation
- 50% securely attached, 36% insecure-avoidant
- Increase in women in work + using professional childcare
- Caused lower rate of securely attached infants
Jin et al (2012) in South Korea:
- 87 children
- Strange Situation
- Proportion of secure infants to insecure similar to most countries
- Insecurely attached children mainly insecure resistant
- Only 1 child was insecure avoidant
- Similar to Japan (due to similar child-rearing)
Tronick et al (1992) in Africa:
- African tribe Efe in Zaire where babies are looked after + breastfed by other women
- Slept w/ mother at night
- At 6 months –> Babies still showed one primary attachment (monotropy)
Takahashi (1990) in Japan:
- Strange Situation
- 60 middle class Japanese infants + mothers
- Similar rates of attachment to Ainsworth
- No insecure-avoidant, 32% insecure-resistant
- Distressed when left alone –> study had to be stopped for 90% of infants
- Due to child-rearing practices –> rarely experienced separation from mothers
Grossman and Grossman (1991) in Germany:
- Insecurely attached rather than securely attached
- Due to child-rearing practices –> Parents and children maintained interpersonal distance
Procedure of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonberg (1988):
- Meta-analysis of 32 studies of attachment behaviour
- Over 2000 Strange Situations
- 8 diff countries –> China, Netherlands, UK, Japan, Israel, Sweden, USA, West Germany
Findings of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonberg (1988):
- Secure attachment was most common
- China had lowest amount of secure attachments (50%) + equal insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant
- Insecure-avoidant next common in all countries but Japan and Israel –> particularly high in West Germany
- Insecure-resistant most common in collectivist cultures eg. Israel + Japan
- Variance between results within same country was greater (150%) than between countries –> one study found only 46% securely attached comapared to 90% in another sample
Conclusion of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonberg (1988):
- Regardless of culture, most babies will from secure attachment
- Supports argument that secure attachment is best for social and emotional development + attachments are innate
- Cultural practices can have a sig impact on whether an infant is insecure-avoidant/resistant
Strengths and weaknesses of research into cultural variations:
+ Large samples
- Sample tend to be unrepresentative
- Biased methodology
Give examples of the studies that had a large sample and why this is a strength:
- Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonberg (2000 infants), Simonella et al (76), Jin et al (87)
- Increased internal validity as impact of anomalous results are reduced
In what way are samples unrepresentative of culture?
- Comparisons were between countries and not cultures
- Many subcultures w/in a country
- Japan –> Children reared in urban setting more likely to show same attachments as Western countries than a rural sample
- Variance between results within same country was greater (150%) than between countries –> one study found only 46% securely attached compared to 90% in another sample
What ideas does cross-cultural psychology include and what are these?
- Emic = Uniqueness of each culture
- Etic = Cultural universality
Give two examples of an imposed etic:
Using Strange Situation in a non-Western culture:
- Designed by American researcher on British theory
- Questioned whether Anglo-American theories can be applied to other cultures
Connotations of separation anxiety and lack of pleasure
- Referred to as insecure avoidant in Strange Situation
- In Germany, these behaviours are seen as independence than avoidance
- Not a sign of insecurity
Who argued that attachment research is not relevant to other cultures, why and what major differences did they consider?
- Rothbaum et al (2000)
- Rooted in American culture
3 major differences:
1) Sensitivity hypothesis –> Individualist: sensitivity promotes independence, Collectivist: sensitivity promotes dependence
2) Continuity hypothesis –> Individualist: Emotionally competent = Discussing + showing emotions, Collectivist: Not expected to share + share emotions
3) Secure-base hypothesis –> Individualist: promotes independence, Collectivist: promotes dependence
What did Bowlby say about mother-love in infancy and childhood and when?
- 1953
- “mother-love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health”
What is the maternal deprivation hypothesis, when was it formed and by who?
- Bowlby (1951)
- Suggested a young child should experience warm, intimate and continuous relationship w/ his mother/mother substitute otherwise they may suffer long term damage
What is the difference between separation and deprivation?
- Child not being in presence of primary attachment fig
- Only becomes deprivation if element of their care is lost
What period did Bowlby see as critical for psychological development and what would happen if not?
- 30 months
- Inevitable and lasting
