Studies of cultural variations

Question 1

What is meta analysis

Answer 1

Comparing studies relative to their proportions for a particular topic

Question 2

What was the procedure and findings

Answer 2

procedure - The researchers located 32 studies of attachment to investigate the different proportions of attachment types. These were in 8 different countries with 15 in the US. These were then meta- analysed.
Findings - secure attachment was the most common in all countries. However secure attachment was 75% in Britain and 50% in China.
- In individualist countries the rates of insecure - resistant attachment was similar to Ainsworth (under 14%), however in collectivist countries it was over 25%.

Question 3

WHo conducted this research?

Answer 3

• IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg

Question 4

\what were other experimenters

Answer 4

• simonelli - italy
  -mi kyoung jin - korea

Question 5

Give a strength of cultural variations

Answer 5

strengths - most of the studies were conducted by indigenous psychologists. For example, simonelli is italian and conducted the italian study. This reduces the issues of cross cultural research such as language barriers and improves the communication in the research, enhancing the valdity.

Question 6

Outline the italian study

Answer 6

• Simonelli conducted a study which compared attachment proportions. They assessed 76 babies aged 12 months using strange situation. 50% were secure, 36% were insecure - avoidant. The secure attachment type was lower here and this is suggested to be because young mothers are increasing and so is the use of professional childcare

Question 7

Outline a Korean study

Answer 7

Mi Kyound Jin compared attachment types in Korea. The proportion of insecure resistant babies was higher here due to the child rearing styles.

Question 8

Give two weaknesses

Answer 8

L - confounding variables = the studies in different countries may have not had the same methodology. Additionally, the studies may have different sample characteristics such as poverty, social class and environmental differences. This means that the studies may not tell us anything about cross-cultural patterns

L - Imposed Etic, the cross cultural reseatch trys to impose a test designed for one cultural context to another. This assumes that the same technique works in different cultures. For example, a lack of emotion in the US may seem as insecure - avoidant however in Germany this may be seen as secure and indepndent. This shows that there are different interpretations in different cultural contexts