Students are likely to describe cases of isolated children such as the Czech twins or Genie. Relevant studies of institutional care include Hodges and Tizard‟s longitudinal study of 65. British children from early life to adolescence and Rutter‟s study of Romanian orphans adopted by British families. Earlier research such as Skodak & Skeels or Spitz & Wolf may also be cited. Animal research, such as that of Harlow’s monkeys, is creditworthy as long as it refers to the effects of failure to form attachment. Students may evaluate research in terms of methodology, e.g. strengths & weaknesses of case studies or longitudinal research. Commentary may refer to the fact that the effects of privation may depend on a number of factors including age of child and quality of later care. Practical implications such as how this research has influenced child care practice would also be relevant. Students who refer to animal research may consider how far the findings can be generalised to humans. Answers which focus on John (Robertson’s‟ research) are not credit worthy because they refer to disruption not privation.
Outline and evaluate research into cultural variations in attachment.
A01: Much of the research has used the strange situation. Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s meta-analysis found secure attachment was the most common in all cultures studied. The lowest % of secure attachment was shown in China, and the highest in Great Britain. Avoidant attachment was more common in West Germany but rare in Israel and Japan. Variation within cultures was 1.5 times greater than the variation between cultures. Candidates may also refer to Takahashi who found high levels of resistant attachment in Japanese infants. Research relating to infants raised on Israeli Kibbutzim is also credit worthy.
A02: Candidates may refer to ethical issues because the strange situation may have been stressful for