Cultural Variations (in attachment)

• define cultural variations?

  the different norms and values that exist within any groups of different people
• who conducted the study into cultural variations?

  Vanijzendoorn and Kroonenberg in 1988
• what type of study was conducted by Vanijzendoorn and Kroonenberg?

  Meta-analysis of 32 studies from 8 different countries
• what were the aims of the meta-analysis study?

  • to measure the proportion of secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant attachments across different cultures to asses cultural variations
  • to investigate if attachment styles are universal or culturally specific
• what was Vanijzendoorn & Kroonenberg's cross-cultural study procedure?

  • 32 studies from 8 different countries of attachment using the Strange Situation
  • 15/32 studies were American
  • sample was 1,990 children
• what were the key findings of Vanijzendoorn & Kroonenberg's study?

  • secure attachment was the most common in all 8 countries
  • percentages of secure attachment ranged 50% to 75% (50% in China & 75% in UK)
  • overall in most countries 65% of infants were securely attached
  • China's results: 50% secure, 50% insecure -> 25% split between resistant and avoidant
• what is an individualistic culture?

  Emphasis on personal goals and independence rather than the community
• what is a collectivist culture?

  Emphasizes group harmony, interdependence, and loyalty rather than putting yourself first
• What were the findings of secure attachments?

  • UK had 75%
  • UK and Sweden had the highest proportion of secure attachment
  • China had the lowest with 50%
• what were the findings of insecure attachments?

  • Germany has the highest amount of insecure avoidant attachments at 35%
  • Israel had the highest number of insecure resistant attachments at 29%
  • collectivist cultures had more insecure resistant attachments
  • individualistic cultures had more insecure avoidant attachments
• What was Mi Kyoung et al's study in attachment in 2012? recall everything

  Korean study -> compared attachment types in Korea to other studies using the Strange Situation.

  • sample = 87 babies

  findings:

  • most babies were secure
  • more insecure babies were insecure resistant
  • 1 insecure avoidant baby
  • distribution is similar to Japan's in Van & Kroon's study as Japan and Korea have similar child rearing practices
• what was Simonelli et al's study into attachment in 2014? recall everything

  Italian study -> compared attachment types in Italy to other studies using the Strange Situation

  • sample = 76 babies

  findings:

  • 50% secure
  • 36% insecure avoidant
  • suggested that the findings are due to the increasing number of mothers of young children working long hours and using professional childcare, not static as they are inline with cultural change
• How are indigenous researchers a strength in cultural variations?

  indigenous researchers/psychologists:

  • research was included from Germany by Grossman et al 1981
  • research was included from Japan by Takahashi 1986

  this allows cross cultural examination to have less potential problems such as researchers' misunderstanding of languages used by participants, bias & stereotypes

  Using these researchers allow researchers to communicate successfully and therefore this enhances the validity of the findings
• what is a counterpoint to indigenous researchers in cultural variations?

  indigenous researchers aren't always used in attachment research:

  • Morelli and Tronick 1991 -> they were outsiders to the Efe of Zaire tribe from the Democratic Republic of Congo

  this might of affected the data through difficulties in understanding the culture as they are outsiders

  this means that data might have been affected by bias and difficulty in cross-cultural communication
• why is confounding variables a weakness in cultural variations of attachment?

  • studies that are conducted in different countries are not usually matched for methodology, sample and environmental variables and these can create confounding results
  • so non-matched studies may not be cross-cultural & not show patterns of attachment
• why is an Imposed Etic a limitation of Cultural variations of attachment?

  • an imposed etic is the idea that tries to use a test designed for one culture and used onto other cultures.
  • evidence -> shows that Germans keep some interpersonal distance between parents and children so infants don't engage in proximity seeking behavior which could be classed as insecurely attached when they aren't.
  • this is a weakness because the behaviors measured in the SS may not have the same meaning in different cultural contexts and comparing them is meaningless
• why is competing explanations a discussion in cultural variations of attachment?

  • Bowlby's theory explains this similarity by identifying attachment as innate and universal
  • contrastingly, vanijzendoorn and krooenberg suggest an alternative explanation that media represents a particular view of how babies are meant to behave this could override traditional cultural differences