write comments to 4 articles

The subject I want to explain is Attachment in infancy. I will summarize some famous experiments that have been done on this topic, and how the research on this topic will get different results in different cultural backgrounds, such as Chinese culture.

Undoubtedly, the first few years of infancy are very crucial for a child’s both cognitive and social development. The social development in infancy will continue into adolescence and adulthood and will also have a potential impact on future behavior (Altman et al., 2017). Attachment is a significant part of developmental psychology, as well as our social life. The concept of attachment in infancy was first introduced by John Bowlby, the theoretical basis was inspired by his understanding of mammals (Altman et al., 2017). Attachment theory implies that the unique bond one forms with his or her primary caregivers in infancy is critical for development(Altman et al., 2017).

Infant attachment is difficult to observe because unlike adults, infants cannot effectively express their feelings. In 1969, American psychologist Mary Ainsworth introduced the “Strange Situation Procedure” which allowed psychologists to study attachment in infancy in an effective way (Altman et al., 2017). Ainsworth and her team have recognized three types of attachment style from the observation of the Strange Situation Procedure. First, there is the securely attached style identified with emotional closeness with the caregiver as well as good levels of independence and exploration. Second, the insecure-resistant style is identified with a certain level of clinginess towards the mother when the mother is leaving and after the mother comes back. Third, the insecure-avoidant style, identified with an avoid behavior towards the caregiver when he or she comes back. According to Ainsworth and Bell (1970), infant attachment will affect the stress of separation, the fear of strangers and unfamiliar things, and the desire to explore. Psychologists can also use attachment style to predict achievement in school, emotional health, relationship, and self-esteem (Danielson, 2021).

However, each infant will form different attachment types according to different family situations. Most of these experiments on infant attachment were conducted in Western countries, and most of the participants were white babies, so I want to explore how similar experiments would be different if they were conducted in another environment.

Suppose these experiments are conducted in the context of Chinese culture. In that case, I think the attachments formed by infants will be more stable because Chinese culture and Chinese policies cause parents to pay more attention to their offspring so that babies will develop a more secure relationship with their caregivers. As a Chinese student studying abroad, I have a thorough understanding and experience of Chinese culture. In the case of taking care of babies, there is still a big difference between the Chinese method and the western countries such as the US. Once affected by the one-child policy, a Chinese family generally only had one child. The Chinese parents attach great importance to their only child and even over-spoil them because they are their only offspring. Most parents will almost meet all the requirements of their children and care about their children in every possible way. At

the same time, there is a tradition in China that three generations of people live in one house. For example, there are not only parents with children in a family, but also the grandparents of the children. In this case, it is difficult to ignore the child. On the contrary, the child will receive extra attention. Even if the child's parents do not have time to take care of the child, the child's grandparents will always take care of the child.

The extra emphasis on children in Chinese families may make the children feel attached to their caregivers. As Keller and her team (2007) shows, Chinese mothers mentioned more body contact in interviews, and Western mothers would let their children interact with some objects more. The interaction of objects is related to autonomy in the development path, and body contact is related to the relatedness in the development path. Also, Chinese parents rarely encourage autonomous behavior when playing freely with their children(Keller et al., 2007). In such a collective culture, children will have a better chance of forming attachments with their caregivers, thus avoiding insecurities.

I chose to use Ainsworth's "Strange Situation Procedure" to observe the previous attachment styles of Chinese mothers and children. The Strange Situation Procedure takes about 21 minutes. It will arrange the baby, mother, and a stranger in eight different situations. First, introduce experiments for parents and children. The second is the free play of parents and children. Third, the stranger enters the room. Fourth, the mother leaves, and the stranger and the child are in the room. Fifth, the mother comes back, and the stranger leaves. Sixth, the child is alone in the room. Seventh, the stranger and the child are in the room. Eighth, the stranger left, and the mother comes back to the room with the child(Altman et al., 2017). By observing the baby's response in each different situation, we can identify the attachment style. I think the result of this experiment will differ from the existing ones by showing that there should be more insecure-resistant attachment between Chinese mothers and babies than insecure-avoidant. This is because China's cultural background and policies have led parents to pay special attention to their children, making children more dependent on their parents, resulting in unwillingness to leave their parents. Therefore insecure-resistant will be more than insecure-avoidant.

References

Altman, M., Jacobi, L., Avilla, R., Beston, B., Brown, K., Burton, E.T., Carducci, B., Hummel, J., Lukowski, A., Martinez, R.L., O'Donovan, A., Poplock, S., Slonecker, E., Swisher, M., VanArsdall, J., Vervaeke, J.,& Wehe, H. (2017).Introduction to psychology: A Top Hat interactive text. Top Hat Monocle.https://tophat.com/marketplace/beta/oer-introduction-to-psychology-meagh an-altman/737/

Ainsworth, M., & Bell, S. (1970). Attachment, Exploration, and Separation: Illustrated by the Behavior of One-Year-Olds in a Strange Situation. Child Development, 41(1), 49–67. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1970.tb00975.x

Danielson, K. (2021). “Human Development Lecture 3”. PSYA02: Introduction to Clinical, Development, Personality, and Social Psychology. University of Toronto, Scarborough. Retrieved 2 June 2021. <q.utoronto.ca>

Keller, H., Abels, M., Borke, J., Lamm, B., Yanjie Su, Yifang Wang, & Lo, W. (2007). Socialization environments of Chinese and Euro-American middle-class babies: Parenting behaviors, verbal discourses and ethnotheories. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 31(3), 210–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025407074633