Ding et al. (2014) Evaluate your chosen contemporary study from developmental psychology. (8)

Question 1

Initial sample consisted of 160 infants (82 boys/78 girls) which reduced to 118 children at the follow-up stage (63 boys/55 girls).

Answer 1

The sample was reduced by 42 over the duration of the study which reduces the available data needed to assess the cognitive outcomes of children with different attachment types in infancy.

Question 2

The study evaluated mother–infant attachment in 12- to 18-month- old infants, using Ainsworth’s strange situation procedure (SSP).

Answer 2

The SSP has been tested and re-tested across different cultures and has been found to be a reliable measure of attachment types, increasing the credibility of the findings made by Ding et al. (2014).

Question 3

The participants were recruited through child health networks in Shanghai from mainly middle-income families.

Answer 3

The sample does not represent a wider socio-economic population and it is culturally biased to Shanghai, reducing generalisability of findings about attachment and cognitive outcomes.

Question 4

The mothers of the children gave full informed consent and the Research Ethics Committee of the Children’s Hospital approved the study.

Answer 4

Gaining consent and having ethical committee approval ensures the study meets ethical criteria so minimal distress should be caused to the children or the mothers.