Cultural variation in attachment Flashcards
Who carried out research in to cultural variations in attachment?
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
What research did Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg use in their study?
2000 Strange Situation experiments in 8 different countries
What was Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s aim?
To investigate whether there were inter-cultural differences BETWEEN countries/ cultures
To investigate whether there were intra-cultural differences WITHIN countries/ cultures
What were Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s findings?
elaborate why they were important/ what they supported.
They found that the differences were small. Secure attachment was most common in all countries
-Supports the idea that secure attachment is ‘best’ for social and emotional development (Ainsworth)
-Supports the idea that attachment is innate and biological (Bowlby)
-6/8 countries (other than Japan and Israel) were consistent with Ainsworth.
Outline Takahashi’s study in Japan.
Outline its results
Replicated Strange Situation with 60 middle class Japanese infants and mothers.
-Similar rates of secure attachment to Ainsworth
-NO insecure-avoidant
-HIGH insecure-resistant
This high insecure-resistant is to do with extreme stress when left alone (one of the stages in SS)
This is because Japanese infants are not usually left alone. (therefore shows ethnocentricism in the SS)
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Ethnocentric
Cross-cultural researched used the Strange Situation
- Strange Situation is ethnocentric as it is based on behaviour categories made based on American attachment types and traits
- Non-American behaviour is therefore being judged to an American standard
- Lead to more than proportionate ‘insecure-resistant’ attachment in Japan as Japanese infants are not used to being left alone, but US ones are.
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They were comparing countries, not cultures
They were comparing countries, e.g Japan and US
- Both countries have many cultures within them, which have not been independently researched.
- e.g Only middle class were tested in Japan.
It is therefore not ‘Cultural variations’, but more ‘Country variations’
Doesn’t meet the aim
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Similarities may be due to global culture
Bowlby believes that attachment is innate and biological. This is supported by Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg.
However, cultural similarities found in this study may be to do with increasingly similar global culture.
-e.g Global TV shows which include scenes of parenting.
Western TV shows may therefore influence the attachment of other countries (media influences)
Therefore not innate and biological as it has been learned
AO3 +
High reliability
The Strange Situation is a standardised procedure which had been documented accurately.
This means it can and has been repeated accurately
-Therefore allows accurate comparisons to be made between cultures
Reliability is therefore HIGH
