Cultural variations

Question 1

What are cross cultural variations

Answer 1

These refer to the fact that behaviour, attitudes, norms and values differ across cultures-becaused cultures socially construct different values and norms

Question 2

What does individualistic mean

Answer 2

This emphasises individually, individual needs and independence

Question 3

What does collectivist mean

Answer 3

This is where the individuals share tasks, belongings and income

Question 4

How does Britain view insecure avoidant attachments, compared to Germany

Answer 4

Britan=negatively because it is associated with weak attachments
Germany=positively because it is associated with being independent

Question 5

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) aim

Answer 5

• to investigate the cross-cultural variation in attachment types, through a meta-analysis (data from several studies)
• only use findings from studies that had used the strange situation

Question 6

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) procedure

Answer 6

• meta analysis of 32 studies that had used the strange situation to measure and classify the relationship between mother and infant
• research from 8 different nations was compared e.g. Japan, Sweden etc

Question 7

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) findings

Answer 7

-there was one and a half times greater variation within cultures than between them
-considerable consistency in the distribution of
attachment types was found across cultures
-secure attachment was the most common
-western cultures dominant insecure type was avoidant
-non-western cultures was resistant
-China had equal numbers of avoidant and resistant types
-Highest proportion of insecure avoidant was Germany
-Highest proportion of insecure resistant was Japan

Question 8

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) conclusion

Answer 8

• there are greater variations in attachment types among different groups in society
• the greater variations found within cultures suggests that a sub cultural comparison would have been more valid

Question 9

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) evaluation

Answer 9

• children are brought up different ways in different cultures-this might result in different types of attachment in different cultures. The Strange Situation might not have been a suitable method for studying cross cultural attachment
• the study assumes that different countires are the same thing as different cultures
• meta anaglyses can hide individual results that show as unusual trend
• it does not tell us why patterns of attachment vary within a culture

Question 10

Grossman et al (1985)

Answer 10

claimed that more ‘avoidant’ infants may be found in Germany because of the value Germans put on independence - so ‘avoidance’ is seen as good