Types of Attachment and Culture

Question 1

How do we test types of attachment

Answer 1

The Strange Situation by Ainsworth systematically tests the nature of attachment by observing infants behaviour under conditions of mild stress and novelty

Question 2

Strange Situation Aim

Answer 2

To investigate how attachments might vary between children.

Question 3

Strange Situation Procedure

Answer 3

How 106 middle-class infants aged between 9-18 months were placed in a novel environment. The infants behaviour is observed across eight episodes

This enables observation of the infants response to

• Separation Anxiety when the caregiver leaves
• Reunion Behaviour when the caregiver returns
• Stranger Anxiety when an unknown adult approaches
• Willingness to explore the novel environment

Typically a group of observers view the situation via video or one-way mirror recording what the infant is doing every 15 seconds.

Question 4

Stranger Situation Results

Answer 4

Infants observed showed a decline in exploratoiry behaviour and an increase in crying from playing with the parent. Three main patterns of behaviour were identified, leading to the identification of three main attachment types:

• Secure Attachment
• Insecure-Avoidant
• Insecure-Resistant

Question 5

Explain Secure Attachment

Answer 5

High - Willingness to explore
Moderate - Stranger Separation
Easy To Sooth - Separation Anxiety 
Enthusiastic - Reunion Behaviour
66% - Percentage of infants

Question 6

Explain Insecure Avoidant

Answer 6

High -  Willingness to explore
Low - Stranger Separation
InDifferent - Separation Anxiety 
Avoids Contact - Reunion Behaviour
22% - Percentage of infants

Question 7

Explain Insecure Resistant

Answer 7

Low - Willingness to explore
High - Stranger Separation
Distressed - Separation Anxiety 
Seeks And rejects - Reunion Behaviour
12% - Percentage of infants

Question 8

Strange Situation Conclusion

Answer 8

Ainsworth (1978) suggested the ‘caregiver sensitivity hypothesis’ as an explanation for different attachment types. Ainsowrth’s maternal sensitivity hypothesis argues that a child’s attachment style is dependent on the behavior their mother shows towards them.

‘Sensitive’ mothers are responsive to the childs needs and respond to their moods and feelings correctly. Sensitive mothers are more likely to have securely attached children.

In contrast, mothers who are less sensitive towards their child, for example those who respond to the child’s needs incorrectly or who are impatient or ignore the child, are likely to have insecurely attached children.

Question 9

Strange Situation Evaluation: Observations Have High Reliability

Answer 9

High Inter-rater reliability is required for measurements to be seen as meaningful. Ainsworth found .94 /1 agreement between raters when measuring exploratory behaviour

Question 10

Strange Situation Evaluation: Real World Application

Answer 10

Cooper suggests that the circle of security project teaches caregivers to better recognize and understand their infants experience of distress.

The project led to a decrease in the number of caregivers classified as disorder from 60% to 15% and an increase in securely attached infants from 32% to 40%

Question 11

Strange Situation Evaluation: Internal Validity

Answer 11

The strange situation may only measure the quality of one particular relationship. Main and Weston showed children behaved differently depending on which parent they were with.

However Main found that when re-assessed at 9 years of age, attachment type was mainly influenced by the mother. This supports the concept of monotropy and the internal validity of the measurement.

Question 12

Strange Situation Evaluation: Other Types of attachment

Answer 12

Main and Soloman analysis of over 200 strange situation videotapes identified type D “Insecure-Disordered Attachment”. Children who do not seem to have a consistent attachment type and who lack a coherent strategy for coping with seperation from the caregiver

Question 13

Strange Situation Evaluation: Maternal Reflective Functioning

Answer 13

Some Studies have found a rather low correlation between measures of secure attachment and maternal sensitivity. Slade found maternal reflective functioning. played a greater role in establishing attachment types

Question 14

Define Cultural Variations

Answer 14

The Way that different groups of people vary in terms of their social practices and the effect theses practices have on development and behaviour.

Question 15

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Culture Variations In Attachment: Aim

Answer 15

To investigate the types of attachment across cultures and to see how the three main attachment styles applied.

Question 16

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Culture Variations In Attachment: Procedure

Answer 16

Vj&K investigated inter-cultural variations (differences in attachments between cultures) and intra-cultural variations (Attachment differences within a culture).

They conducted a meta-analysis of 32 studies with over 2000 strange situation classifications in 8 different countries.

Question 17

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Culture Variations In Attachment: Findings

Answer 17

Secure attachment was the most common classification in all 8 countries

insecure-avoidant was the next most common, except in Israel and japan (Collectivist Cultures)

Individualist cultures, such as Great Britain, West Germany and USA, showed more insecure-avoidant than insecure-resistant classifications.

Variation within cultures was 1.5 times greater than the variation between cultures.

Question 18

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Culture Variations In Attachment: Conclusion

Answer 18

The overall consistency in secure attachment types leads to the conclusion that there may be universal (innate) characteristics that underpin infant and caregiver interactions.

However, the significant variations of insecure attachments demonstrate that universality is limited. Implications include the linking of the variation in attachment to child-rearing practices and environmental factors.

Question 19

Define Individualistic Cultures

Answer 19

Individualistic culture is a society which is characterized by individualism, which is the prioritization, or emphasis, of the individual over the entire group

Question 20

Define Collectivist Culture

Answer 20

A collectivist culture is one that’s based on valuing the needs of a group or a community over the individual. Kinship, family, and community are extremely important.

Question 21

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Culture Variations In Attachment Evaluation: Should attachment theory by culturally based?

Answer 21

Rothbaum argued there may be a small set of universal principles, such as attachment ensures protection, but childcare practices will vary naturally.

However, Posada and Jacobs cite cross-cultural evidence supporting the universality of attachment, highlighting that caregivers sensitivity is linked to secure attachment.

Question 22

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Culture Variations In Attachment Evaluation: Should Similarities may not be innately determined

Answer 22

An Increasingly global culture rather than an innate mechanism may explain similarities in attachment behaviour. Some cultural similarities may be due to the effects of mass media: parents are now able to access child-rearing information from all over the world via electronic and print media to inform their parenting

Question 23

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Culture Variations In Attachment Evaluation: The impact of subculture should be considered

Answer 23

Van Ijendoorn and Sagi study of attachment in Tokyo found similar attachment distributes to western studies whereas studies from rural Japan showed more insecure-resistant classifications. This meta-analysis shows more variation occurs within rather than between cultures.

Question 24

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Culture Variations In Attachment Evaluation: Cross cultural research involves the use of imposed etics

Answer 24

The Strange Situation assumes willingness to explore, indicates a secure attachment. However in traditional Japanese culture dependence rather than independence denotes secure attachment.

Question 25

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Culture Variations In Attachment Evaluation: Attachment research is influenced by American Culture

Answer 25

Bowlby and Ainsworth see securely attached infants as maturing into social and emotionally competent children and adults, with ‘competent’ implying independence. However, in Japan competence is represented as being group rather than self-oriented