weaknesses/criticisms

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    Created by
    jasmine

    Cards (7)

    • meta-analysis only included studies using the SS

      -designed for assessing attachment in America
      -may not be valid for assessing other cultures > imposed etic
      -different cultures have different norms
      -danger the USA is considered 'normal'
      -lacks cross-cultural validity
    • evidence that the SS may lack cross-cultural validity - Israel

      -Israel had more resistant & less avoidant than US
      -children were raised on a Kibbutz and saw few strangers
      -were used to separation from mothers
      -fact they were not used to strangers may account for large % of resistant
      -where their anxiety wasn't shown when mother left but when stranger entered
    • evidence that SS may lack cross-cultural validity - Japan

      -Japanese studies found more resistant but very low avoidant
      -Japanese mothers rarely leave infants so SS may have been particularly stressful when mother left
      -Japanese children's resistant behaviour more likely due to mother leaving then stranger arriving
    • evidence that SS may lack cross-cultural validity - GERMANY

      -German infants showed very large numbers of avoidant
      -German culture requires keeping interpersonal distance between parents & children
      -children encouraged to be independent & not clingy
      -high % of avoidant likely reflects the ethos of encouraging independence rather than insecurity
    • lacking internal validity
      -meta-analysis only included studies that used the SS to measure attachment
      -procedure may not be measuring what supposed to
      -meta-analysis may not be making conclusions about attachment type
      -may reflect temperament hypothesis
      -may reflect infants past experiences with separation
    • demand characteristics - internal validity 

      -mother aware she's being observed
      -knows part of the aim of the study
      -may think she's supposed to be interacting with baby and do so more than normal
      -social desirability bias > be seen as good mother
    • methodological problems with meta-analysis & population validity 

      -half of the studies used were from America
      -overall averages likely biased & not representative of all cultures
      -sample sizes in some countries fae too small to make safe generalisations about country
      -only 36 Chinese infants were observed but China hs huge population
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