Cultural variations

Cultural variations

1. The ways that different groups of people vary in terms of their social practices and effects these practices have on development and behaviour.

2. Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg 1988 - meta analysis of findings from 32 studies of attachment behaviour.

   • Secure was most common in every country
   • Insecure avoidant was the next most common in every country except Israel and Japan
   • Variation within cultures was 1.5 times greater than the variation between cultures

3. Grossman and Grossman found German infants tend to be classified insecurely rather than securely due to different child rearing practices.

   • Children tend to be with nannies and away from parents

4. In Japan it showed more evidence of insecure resistant attachment because the Japanese infants were rarely left on their own or without their primary care giver.

   • 90% was so extreme the study had to be stopped.

5. Study suggests that despite the fact there are cultural variations, the strongest attachments are formed with the infant’s mother.

6. Doesn't take into account subcultures across different countries i.e. in Tokyo and America and how they raise their children.

7. Cross cultural research - dependence in japan = secure. Western criteria views things differently if don't match own views. Lacks validity

8. Bowlby said attachment is sue to an innate mechanism, despite culture.

   • VJ - suggested some cultural similarities may be explained by mass media which spreads ideas about parenting so all over the world children are exposed to similar influences.
     • So not innate but a global culture.