cultural variations in attachment evaluation

Question 1

(p) a strength of van ijzendoorn’s research is that it used a large sample size

Answer 1

(e)
● van ijzendoorn’s study was a meta analysis (secondary data)

● it consisted of 32 studies from 8 countries on almost 2000 infants

(c)
● this is a strength because the findings are more generalisable across larger population

● (e.g. we can make a conclusion that secure attachment is the most common across the world)

(counter)
● however, the number of studies done in each country is unrepresentative

● out of 32 studies, 18 were based in USA

● and only 5 in total out of 32 were based in ‘non western’ cultures

● this matters because secure attachment may not actually be the most common in all non western cultures, further research should be conducted

Question 2

(p) one strength of the studies is the use of indigenous researchers

Answer 2

(e)
● indigenous researchers are those from the same cultural background as the participants

● using indigenous researchers aids communication between researcher and participants

● as well as preventing misunderstandings e.g. of instructions

(c)
● this means that there is good chance researchers and participants communicated successfully, increasing the internal validity

● we can be more confident that these studies measure true cultural differences in attachment

Question 3

(p) however, the test used to measure attachment in these studies (the strange situation) is culturally biased

Answer 3

(e)
● using the strange situation in a different cultural context from the one for which it was designed may be meaningless

● the strange situation was designed in the US where lack of affection at reunion represents insecure attachment

● however, in germany it would be seen as a sign of independence and would be encouraged

(c)
● this means that studies using the strange situation may not be measuring true cultural differences in attachment

● different assessment tools should be created depending on the culture

Question 4

(p) another limitation of these studies is that confounding variables may have impacted the results

Answer 4

(e)
● studies conducted in different countries may not be matched for sample characteristics

● e.g. studies in different countries may use children of different age and social class

● environmental variables may also differ

● e.g. if the room size is smaller, children may feel more confident to explore, regardless of attachment type

(c)
● this means that studies assessing attachment types in different countries may lack internal validity

● telling us little about cultural differences in attachment