Cross Cultural Attachments Flashcards
Who conducted this research
VI (Van Ijzendoorn)
K (Kroonenberg)
What did K and VI want to investigate, and how did they do this ?
Investigate the cultural differences in the proportions of each attachment type both between and within cultures
They looked at the proportions of secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant attachments across a range of countries
The procedure of VI and K’s work
It was a meta-analysis of 32 studies of attachment that used the strange situation, and there was 8 countries involved. However it wasn’t an equal spread of studies between countries, as 15 of these studies were from the US.
What were the 8 countries involved in this meta analysis
Great Britain
US
Japan
China
Sweden
Germany
Netherlands
Israel
Findings from these studies
Secure attachment was the most common as it ranged from 50% in china to 75% in Great Britain.
In individualistic countries (Great Britain, USA, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands), insecure-resistant was all under 14%
In collectivist countries (Japan, Israel and china), insecure-resistant was a lot higher, at over 25%
Whats an extra study for cultural variations of attachment
The Italian study;
A psychologist studied 76 babies who were 12 months old, using the strange situation. Results showed that 50% were had a secure attachment and 36% were insecure-avoidant, which has been suggesting this is because mother of very young children have to work long ours and use childcare
Strength evaluation
P- Use of indigenous researchers/psychologists
E- those from the same cultural background as the participants, such as Germans working with German participants, which improve communication which can avoid misunderstandings of things such instructions.
E-increase the validity of the study because, it means that potential problems can be avoided.
P-the strange situation was controlled
Limitaion evaluation
P- problem of confounding variables
E- the environmental variables in the strange situation may differ, such as it being in a smaller room, so babied feel more comfortable and encouraged to explore and its also using children from different age and social classes
E-meaning that results could be inaccurate and its measuring what its claiming to measure which id the types of attachment across culture
P-designed in one culture
E-using the strange situation to measure different cultural context, maybe meaningless as it was made in the USA. This could lead to behaviours meaning different things, such as in the USA lack of affection upon reunion would be classed as a negative thing (insecure-avoidant) but in Germany it would be classed as independence and viewed positively.
E-meaningless to compare attachment styles to different countries when they all view behaviours differently due to the different cultures.
