Cultural variations in attachment Flashcards
What is cultural variations?
Culture - norms and values that exist within any group of people.
Cultural variations are differences in norms and values that exist between people in different groups.
Explain attachment in relation to cultural variation.
Attachment research is concerned with the differences in the proportion of children of different attachment.
What did van Ijzendoorn and Kroonberg (1988) do?
A meta-analysis of numerous Strange Situation for the proportion of the different types of attachment across different countries
What is a meta-analysis?
It’s a research that looks at the findings from a number of different similar studies in order to reach a general conclusion. This means that sometimes several smaller studies can be grouped together and analysed.
What is the aim of van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s meta-analysis?
To investigate the reported rates of different infant attachment types in a range of cultures.
State the procedure of van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s research.
A meta-analysis of other Strange Situation studies
The results of 32 studies across 8 countries were analysed, containing the results for 1,990 children - results of the studies combined and analysed together, weighing each study for its sample size.
List the studies that were selected in the meta-analysis.
Observed only mother-infant pairs (not fathers or other caregivers
Classified infants into the 3 attachment types (A, B and C)
List the studies that were excluded in the meta-analysis.
That looked at children with special needs (such as Down’s syndrome),
Any study with less than 35 mother-baby pairs,
Any study using children older than 2 years
What were the findings van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s cultural variations research?
Wide variations between the proportions of attachment types in different studies.
In all countries, secure attachment was most common.
Insecure-resistant was the least common.
Apart from in Japan and Israel, where insecure-avoidant was the least common.
Secure attachment in:
Britain - 75%
China - 50%
Individualist cultures rate of insecure-resistant attachment were under 14%.
Collectivist were above 25%.
What is an individualist culture?
One that values independence and the importance of the individual.
What is a collectivist culture?
One that emphasises the importance of the group or collective. For example, China, Japan, and Israel.
State the other studies of cultural variations.
Italian study - Simoneli et al.
Korean study - Kyoung Jin et al.
Explain Simoneli et al. experiment.
Conducted study in Italy to see whether the proportions of babies of different attachment types match previous study.
Assessed 76 babies aged 12 months using Strange Situation.
Found 50% were secure, with 36% insecure-avoidant.
Suggest increasing numbers of mothers of vey young children work long hours and use professional childcare.
Explain Kyoung Jin et al experiment.
Conducted a study to compare proportions of attachment types in Korea to other studies.
Strange Situation assessed 87 babies.
Proportions of insecure and securely attached similar with most countries.
Classified as insecurely attached were resistant and only one baby was avoidant.
Similar to Japanese findings - similar rearing styles.
What is a strength of van Ijzendoorn and Kroonberg (1988) resea
Conducted by indigenous psychologists.
For example, van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s included research by German team and Takahashi who is Japanese.
Problems in cross-cultural research resolved such as researchers misunderstanding language.
Researchers and participants communicate effectively - validity.
