Cultural Variation

What is culture?

The shared beliefs and values of members in a particular society

Define cultural variation:

The difference in norms and values that exist between people in different groups

Define an individualist culture

Emphasis on personal independence and achievement at the expense of group goals, Strong sense of competition (e.g. Uk, USA)

Define an collectivist culture:

Emphasis on family and work goals above individual needs and desires. There is a high degree of interdependence between people (e.g. China)

State the three main studies carried out on cultural variations

1. Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) = Meta-analysis

2. Jin et al (2012) = Korea

3. Simonelli et al (2014) = Italy

Describe the procedure of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s (1988) study:

• Meta-analysis of Strange Situation and combined findings of 32 other Strange Situation studies from a variety of different countries

State the three main findings from Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg's study:

1. Secure attachment= most common

2. Insecure-avoidant= Highest % in Germany 3. Insecure-resistant= least common overall, but highest in Japan

Was the variation greater between or within cultures in Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg's study?

Within cultures- 1.5 times greater

Explain why insecure-avoidant was the highest in Germany?

German caregivers bring up children to be independent

Explain why insecure-resistant was highest in Japan?

Japan= collectivist culture. Japanese infants are very rarely left by their mothers

How does Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg's study show support for Bowlby's monotropic theory?

Cultural similarity of secure being most common → suggests attachment is innate

Which other study showed evidence for high levels of insecure-resistant in Asian countries?

Jin et al. (2012):

• Compared attachment types in Korea to other studies using the Strange Situation to assess 87 children

• Proportions of insecure and secure babies= similar to most countries

• Higher levels of insecure-resistant

What other study showed evidence high levels of insecure-avoidant in Italy?

Simonelli et al. (2014)

Outline Simonelli et al (2014)

• Conducted a study in Italy to see whether the proportions of babies of different attachment types still matches those found in previous studies

• They assessed 76 babies aged 12 months using the Strange Situation

• They found 50% had a secure attachment

• 36% had an insecure-avoidant attachment