What a WEIRD theory

All child development takes place in a specific cultural context, each of which promote certain parenting styles and theories. The basic beliefs of good attachment vary culturally as a result of differences in cultural socialization strategies (Keller, 2018). According to Attachment Theory (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970), a good attachment is a secure one. A secure attachment is displayed by infants who use their primary care giver as a safe base to return to and who show positive reunion behaviour when returned to their primary caregiver after a period of separation (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters & Wall, 2015). However, the attachment theory only represents Western perspectives and ignores the parenting styles found in the rest of the world. Despite this, attachment theory proposes that the theory is universal and that the concepts involved have roots in all cultures. As the theory offers good and bad styles of parenting, as it suggests that a secure attachment is the best attachment, ethical questions about cultural differences should be discussed further.

Evaluating one parenting style using a theory based in a WEIRD society ignores the values and beliefs of any non-WEIRD culture and brings with it problems. This is supported by a Japanese study which used attachment theory. According to attachment theory, Japanese mothers in the study were overinvolved and intrusive and as a result their children formed ambivalent attachments (Rothbaum, Rosen, Ujiie & Uchida, 2002). In the Western opinion, this is not the best attachment type, however Japanese mothers in this study valued the ambivalent attachment over the secure attachment type preferred in Western countries. Evaluating Japanese mothers using the Western Attachment Theory criticised their parenting style, despite the mothers stating as part of the research that the attachment style of their children was the preferred attachment type in Japan. This shows how differences in cultural upbringing should be recognised and western-based theories should not be imposed onto a culture that has different values and traditions. No attachment theory could encompass the broad spectrum of attachment styles that are seen around the world. Therefore, using Attachment Theory to evaluate the behaviour of children around the world, especially those in non-WEIRD societies can only cause problems rather than solve them. I therefore suggest that the best solution is to avoid having a hierarchy of attachment types and rather that the best attachment type is one that suits the lifestyle of the culture a child is being brought up in. Recognising this diversity will aid the quality of children’s upbringing around the world, not only in the western society.

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References

Ainsworth, M. D. S., & Bell, S. M. (1970). Attachment, exploration, and separation: Illustrated by the behavior of one-year-olds in a strange situation. Child Development, 41, 49-67.

Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. N. (2015). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Psychology Press.

Keller, H. (2018). Universality claim of attachment theory: Children’s socioemotional development across cultures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(45), 11414-11419

Rothbaum, F., Rosen, K., Ujiie, T., & Uchida, N. (2002). Family systems theory, attachment theory, and culture. Family process, 41(3), 328-350.