Cultural Variations

Question 1

Who conducted a meta-analysis of findings from the Strange Situation across multiple countries?

Answer 1

van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg

Question 2

How many countries did the meta-analysis look at?

Answer 2

8

Question 3

How many studies did the meta-analysis look at?

Answer 3

32

Question 4

What was the total sample size of the meta-analysis?

Answer 4

1990

Question 5

What country had the highest % of insecure avoidant?

Answer 5

Germany

Question 6

What country had the highest % of insecure resistant?

Answer 6

Israel

Question 7

What were the findings of attachment for children in China?

Answer 7

50% secure
25% avoidant
25% resistant

Question 8

What was the most common type of attachment across all countries and cultures?

Answer 8

Secure

Question 9

What was found about the types of insecure attachment in collectivist cultures?

Answer 9

-There is a higher % of insecure resistant attachment than insecure avoidant

Question 10

What was found about the types of insecure attachment in individualist cultures?

Answer 10

-There is a higher % of insecure avoidant attachment than insecure resistant

Question 11

What country had the most studies in the meta-analysis?

Answer 11

USA (had 18)

Question 12

What is intra-cultural variation?

Answer 12

Variation WITHIN cultures

Question 13

What is inter-cultural variation?

Answer 13

Variation BETWEEN cultures

Question 14

What was found about intra- and inter- cultural variation

Answer 14

Intra-cultural variation was nearly 1.5 x greater (150%) than inter-cultural variation

Question 15

How many countries produced findings proportionally consistent with Ainsowrth and Bell’s finding?

Answer 15

6/8

Question 16

What study was conducted by Simonelli?

Answer 16

• Used the Strange Situation in Italy

Question 17

What was the aim of Simonelli’s research?

Answer 17

-to see whether the proportions of babies in different attachment types still matched those found in previous studies.

Question 18

What were the findings of Simonelli’s research?

Answer 18

-50% secure
-36% insecure-avoidant
-a lower rate of secure attachment and higher rate of insecure-avoidant than found in many studies.

Question 19

What is the explanation of Simonelli’s findings

Answer 19

-Increasing numbers of mothers of very young children work long hours and use professional childcare

Question 20

What can be concluded from Simonelli’s findings?

Answer 20

Patterns of attachment types are not static but vary in line with cultural change

Question 21

What are the strengths of cultural variations in attachment?

Answer 21

-indigenous researchers

Question 22

What are the limitations of cultural variations in attachment?

Answer 22

-confounding variables
-imposed etic

Question 23

Explain the strength of the Strange Situation that: indigenous researchers were used

Answer 23

-This kind of research means that many of the potential problems in cross-cultural research can be avoided, such as researchers’ misunderstandings of the language used by participants or having difficulty communicating instructions to them.
-Difficulties such as bias because of one nation’s stereotypes of another can also be avoided.
-This means there is an excellent chance that researchers and participants communicated successfully - enhancing the validity of the data collected.

Question 24

Explain the limitation of cultural variations: confounding variables

Answer 24

-Studies conducted in different countries are not usually matched for methodology when they are compared in reviews or meta-analyses.
-Sample characteristics such as poverty, social class, age and urban/rural make-up can confound results
-Environmental variables might also differ between studies and confound results. For example the size of the room and the availability of interesting toys there - babies might appear to explore more in studies conducted in small rooms with attractive toys compared to large, bare rooms.
-This means that looking at attachment behaviour in different non-matched studies conducted in different countries may not tell us anything about cross-cultural patterns of attachment.

Question 25

Explain the limitation of cultural variations: imposed etic

Answer 25

-Imposed etic occurs when we assume an idea or technique that works in one cultural context will work in another.
-An example of this in attachment research is in the use of babies’ response to reunion with the caregiver in the Strange Situation.
-In Britain and the US, lack of affection on reunion may indicate an avoidant attachment.
-But in Germany such behaviour would be more likely interpreted as independence rather than insecurity, therefore that part of the SSC may not work in Germany.
-This means that the behaviours measured by the SSC may not have the same meanings in different cultural contexts, and comparing them across cultures is meaningless.