1. Cultural Variations in Attachment
SPECIFICATION:
Describe and evaluate research into cultural variations in attachment.

2. Starter Did you go to nursery?
Have you ever been looked after by an older brother or sister or family member outside of your main caregivers?
‘Children must remain with their mothers for the first six months to be fully bonded with them’ Do you agree with this statement?
Do you think that the above statement is practical in the western world when many are working mothers?

3. Background
In Kibbutzim, communal farms in Israel, babies are placed in communal childcare when they are four days old and cared for by a nurse called a metapelet.
Feeding, changing and caring for the baby are the responsibility of the metapelet, the parents visit for around 3hrs every day
When they are around four months old, they move to another nursery and continue to be cared for by another nurse

4. Research study – using the Strange Situation
Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
Analysed the results of 32 different studies using 8 different countries using Ainsworth’s strange situation to look at differences in attachment between cultures
2000+ babies were studied
Babies were classified using Ainsworth’s A,B or C system
See table page 62 of your textbook for results

5. Main findings of the study
Type B (secure attachments) were most common form in all cultures. 50% of Chinese attachments were secure, 75% in Britain
Type A (avoidant attachments) were more common in West Germany more than any other culture. Very rare in Israel and Japan
Type C (ambivalent attachments) were more common in Israel, China and Japan.

6. But what about within cultures?
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg also found that in their 2 Japanese studies, one had no type A babies whereas the second had around 20%
Intra-cultural variation was quite high, similarly to Ainsworth’s findings
SO it is important to remember that it is too simplistic to believe that all children are reared in the same way in each country

7. Evaluating the study
Give one strength and one weakness of the sample used in the study
Using the information on page 63 of your textbook, explain the difference between individualistic and collectivist cultures and how this is an evaluative point
Can we say that it is an ethnocentric piece of research?
What is meant by meta-analysis?

8. How does this information relate to child rearing methods?
Research can directly relate to the methods that a culture uses. Following research into the kibbutz system in Israel; it was concluded that the communal sleeping aspect may lead to ambivalent attachments.
Many kibbutz nurseries have now changed their policies and return the babies to the parents to sleep at night

9. Plenary – eye on the exam
What is the most common attachment type across all cultures?
Give two examples of how differences in attachment types reflect child rearing practices
What is meant by intra and inter cultural variation?