Cultural Variations

• What do these results suggest about attachment types in individualist cultures (Europe and the United States) compared to collectivist cultures (Japan, Israel, China)

  In the individualistic cultures we see higher percentages of secure and avoiding attachment types, whereas in collectivist cultures the percentages are higher in secure and resistant attachment types
• Explain one strength of using a meta-analysis to assess cross-cultural differences in attachment.

  Meta-analysis provides a more precise estimate of the effect size and increases the generalisability of the results of individual studies. Population validity is high as the sample size is much greater
• Explain a problem with using secondary data in assessing cross-cultural differences in attachment

  The researchers cannot fully control all the variables in the study and they place a lot of trust in the original researchers methodology. They may have been some errors in the studies that are not recognised in the publication. This will affect the validity.
• How could research into cultural variations in attachment affect the economy in any of these countries?


  It could be argued that the cultures with the lowest levels of secure attachments (China + Germany) may want to invest more money in allowing longer maternity leave and extending maternity pay. This will affect the number of people at work at any one time in the country, affecting productivity in the long term as they are more likely to be happy, healthy and successful in education and work.
• Many critics have argued that this study is ethnocentric. Explain what is meant by this criticism.


  It could be biased around the idea that your own group or culture is better/ more superior or more important than others. This study uses a Western method of measuring attachment types, designed by an American researcher and first tested on American middle-classed children. It may be that this method lacks cultural relativism and so should not be used in cultures where the same values in caregiving are not as important.
• van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg cultural variation research aim


  to investigate cross cultural variations in attachment
• What was the method of this study?


  They conducted a meta-analysis of 32 studies from 8 different countries that had used Ainsworth's strange situation
• What were the results of this study?

  There were 3 key findings:

  1. Secure attachment was the most common type of attachment in all the cultures examined
  2. Japan and Israel (collectivist cultures) showed higher levels of insecure-resistant attachment in comparison to other cultures
  3. Germany (individualistic) showed higher levels of insecure avoidant attachment
• What was the conclusion to this study?


  The global similarity seems to add to the US study that the secure attachment is the most common. This supports the idea that therefore secure attachment is the optimal attachment for a healthy development