Cross-cultural research into attachment types

The questions

• Is secure attachment the most common type in every culture (a universal)?
• Do the proportions of avoidant and resistant infants differ by culture, and if so, is that nurture (child-rearing practices) or a problem with the measure?
• If attachment is innate (Bowlby), similar patterns would be expected everywhere; if it depends on caregiving, patterns should vary with culture.

Key findings

• Japan: Takahashi (1986) found no avoidant infants among 60 and a high rate of resistant infants (19 of 60). Japanese infants are rarely separated from their mothers, so the separation episodes may be unusually stressful.
• Germany: Grossmann et al. (1981) found 24 of 46 infants avoidant. German parents value independence, so infants may appear avoidant when they are being independent.
• Israel: Sagi et al. (1985) found many resistant infants (28 of 82) among kibbutz-reared children, who were cared for communally by a few familiar adults and rarely met strangers, so the stranger episodes may have been unusually stressful.
• Overall: van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) pooled 32 studies and found secure attachment most common in every country (see the next lessons).

From the van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) table in Pearson's WPS03 summary of studies

Interpreting the differences

• Nurture explanation: child-rearing norms (independence in Germany, closeness in Japan) shape attachment behaviour.
• Imposed etic: the Strange Situation was designed in the USA and assumes behaviours mean the same thing everywhere. A Japanese infant's distress at separation may reflect unfamiliarity with separation rather than insecurity.
• Universal pattern: secure is still the most common type nearly everywhere, which supports an innate basis (nature) with cultural variation on top.
• Within-culture variation can be larger than between-culture variation, so 'culture' as a country may be too broad.

Worked example

In Takahashi's (1986) Japanese sample of 60, 19 infants were resistant. What percentage is that, and how does it compare with Ainsworth et al.'s (1978) American sample (13 of 105 resistant)?

1. 19 / 60 x 100 = 31.7%.
2. Ainsworth et al.: 13 / 105 x 100 = 12.4%, so the Japanese rate is about 2.6 times as high.
3. Possible reason: Japanese infants are rarely left by their mothers, so separation is unusually stressful.

Answer: 31.7% versus 12.4%, about 2.6 times the American figure.

Check yourself

1. In Grossmann et al. (1981), 24 of 46 German infants were avoidant. What percentage is that? Give your answer to 1 decimal place.
   Show answer

   52.2 %. 24 / 46 x 100 = 52.2%.

2. Why might Japanese infants appear resistant in the Strange Situation?
   • Japanese mothers are insensitive
   • Japanese infants are tested at an older age
   • The procedure is shorter in Japan
   • They are rarely separated from their mothers, so the separation is unusually stressful
   Show answer

   They are rarely separated from their mothers, so the separation is unusually stressful. The procedure may not mean the same thing in a culture with little separation.

3. Using the Strange Situation in every culture as if behaviours mean the same everywhere is an example of
   • an emic approach
   • an imposed etic
   • a longitudinal design
   • a natural experiment
   Show answer

   an imposed etic. A tool from one culture imposed on others.

4. Which explanation fits the high rate of avoidant infants in Germany?
   • German infants have more resistant temperaments
   • German studies used kibbutz children
   • Parents value independence, so infants show little distress at separation
   • German mothers are inconsistent
   Show answer

   Parents value independence, so infants show little distress at separation. Independence training can look like avoidance.

5. Which finding supports the idea that attachment has an innate, universal basis?
   • Secure attachment is the most common type in nearly every country
   • Germany has more avoidant infants than Japan
   • Japan has almost no avoidant infants
   • Israel has many resistant infants
   Show answer

   Secure attachment is the most common type in nearly every country. A consistent modal type across cultures suggests a shared basis.

6. Explain how cross-cultural research into attachment informs the nature-nurture debate.
   Show answer

   Secure attachment being most common everywhere suggests an innate, nature basis, while differences in avoidant and resistant rates between cultures suggest nurture, because child-rearing practices shape attachment.. Show both sides.

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Sources

• Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Subsidiary/Advanced Level in Psychology specification, Issue 6 (November 2024, first assessment January 2026)
• Pearson IAL Psychology summary of studies: WPS03

Last updated 8 November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.