Development of Attachment Evaluation

Development of Attachment Evaluation

1. Methodology

   • Carried out in families homes and observations done by parents
   • Behaviour was unlikely to be affected by the presence of observers
   • Good chance that ppts behaved naturally whilst being observed
   • Good external validity
   • Data may be unreliable - based on mother's reports so may be subjective
   • Some mothers may have been less sensitive to infants needs therefore less likely to report them
   • Reduces overall validity

2. Cultural Variations

   • Britain & US are individualistic cultures
     • Focus on individual needs
   • Israel & Japan are collectivist cultures
     • Focus on the needs of the group rather than the individual
     • Share many things such as possession & childcare
   • If research was carried out in a collectivist culture where multiple attachments were common the result may be different

3. Stage Theories

   • Developmental psychologists use stage theories to describe how children's behaviour changes as they age
   • Difficulty - suggest development is inflexible
   • Suggests that single attachments must come before multiple attachments
   • In some cultures multiple attachments come first (collectivist cultures)
   • Stage theory would be different for children in these cultures so stages are flexible