3. Culture Bias AO1 Flashcards
What do many critics argue?
That although psychology may claim to have unearthed truths about people all over the world, in reality findings from studies only apply to the particular group of people that was studied
What have researchers wrongly assumed
That findings from studies in western cultures can be applied all over the world
Give an example of results that changed when study was conducted in a different country
Asch’s research had very different results when replicated in parts of the world outside the US
What is culture bias?
If normal behaviour is judged from only one standpoint of a culture, cultural differences in behaviour will be seen as abnormal, inferior or unusual
What is Ethnocentrism
The belief in the superiority of ones own cultural group
What might suggest other cultures are undeveloped?
Behaviour that does not conform to the model behaviour
Give an example of research that supports the idea os ethnocentrism
Ainsworth’s strange situation has been criticised as reflecting only the norms and values of American culture in attachment research
What did Ainsworth suggest?
She identified the key defining variable of attachment type as the child’s experience of anxiety on separation
Suggested the ideal attachment was the infant showing moderate distress when left alone by mother figure
What did Ainsworths research lead to?
Misinterpretation of child-rearing practices in other countries which deviated from American norms.
E.g. German mothers seemed cold for rejecting rather than encouraging independence in their children
What was the strange situation ruled to be
An inappropriate measure of attachment type for non US children
What helps to avoid cultural bias?
Respecting cultural relativism
Explain what respecting cultural relativism is
The ‘facts’ and ‘thing’ that psychologists discover may only make sense from the perspective of the culture within which they were discovered - acknowledging this is one way of avoiding cultural bias in research
What are Etic and Emic approaches
They are universal or culture-specific
What does the Etic approach look at?
Behaviour from outside a given culture and identifies behaviours that are universal
What does the Emic approach look at?
Functions from within certain cultures and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture
