Cultural Variations In Attachment

Question 1

Who investigated cultural variations in attachment?

Answer 1

Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg

Question 2

What was Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenbergs aim, method and findings?

Answer 2

Aim: To investigate cross cultural variations in attachment?

Method:
-A meta-analysis was conducted on 32 studies using Ainsworth strange situation from 8 different countries (US, Sweden, Netherlands, UK, Israel, Japan, Germany, China). They gathered results of over 1990 infants.

Findings:

• secure attachments were the most common attachments across all cultures investigated
• Israel and Japan (Collectivist cultures) showed the highest levels of insecure resistant attachments
• Germany (Individualist culture) showed the highest insecure avoidant attachments

Question 3

AO3 for Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s study

Answer 3

• Zaire Africa
• Lacks population validity (27/32 studies were from the US)
• alternative explanation counter arguing Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment

Question 4

Outline zaire Africa’s research and how it supports Van ijzendoorns research

Answer 4

P: ethnographic research into a tribe in Zaire Africa supports Van Ijzendoorns research into cross cultural variations in attachment.

E: They found that children would be fed by multiple mothers within the tribe however would still sleep with their biological mother and form a strong secure attachment with them.

E: this also displays childbearing practices are very different across different cultures and are not always identical to western norms.

L: this shows us regardless of how a child is raised it will most likely form a secure attachment with their primary caregiver supporting the idea that globally secure attachments are the most common attachment type.

Question 5

Outline how Van ijzendoorns research lacks population validity

Answer 5

P: A criticism of Van Ijzendoorns research is that it lacks population validity.

E: this is a result of 27 out of the 32 studies in the meta analysis being conducted in individualistic cultures and 18 of them coming from America.

E: therefore this results and findings are biased towards individualistic cultural norms and values.

L: This does not allow us to accurately generalise the findings to collectivist cultures therefor we do not know whether the most common attachment type in collectivist cultures are secure attachments therefore also making us unable to conclude that secure attachments are the most common type globally.