Chapter 3 Flashcards
Methodology of Cross-Cultural Research
Absolutist Approach
A view in cross-cultural psychology that psychological phenomena are basically the same in all cultures.
Application-Oriented Strategy
An attempt to establish the apllicability of research findings obtained in one country or culture to other countries or cultures.
Comparativist Strategy
An attempt to find similarities and differences in certain statistical measures in a sample of cultures.
Content Analysis
A research method that systematically organizes and summarizes both the manifest and latent content of communication.
Correlation Coefficient
A number that summarizes and describes the type and strength of the relationship between variables X and Y.
Dependent Variable
The variable that is studied and expected to change under the influence of an independent variable.
Direct Surveys
The type of surveys in which the interviewer maintains or can maintain a direct communication with the respondent and is able to provide feedback, repeat a question, or ask for additional information.
Equivalence
Evidence that the methods selected for the study measure the same phenomenon across other countries chosen for the study.
Experiment
The investigative method in which researchers alter some variables to detect specific changes in subjects’ behaviours, attitudes or emotions.
Focus Group Methodology
A survey method used intensively in both academic and marketing research. Most commonly a procedure in which a group responds to specific social, political or marketing messages. Groups typically contain 7-10 participants, who are either experts or types of customers.
Holistic
A term used to describe the study of systems with multiple interconnected elements.
Independent Variable
The condition(s) controlled by the researcher.
Indirect Surveys
The type of surveys in which the researcher’s personal impact is very small because there is no direct communication between the respondent and the interviewer.
Interval
A scale in which each score indicates some amount.
Laboratory Observation
Recording people’s behaviour in an environment created by the researcher.
Mean (Stat.)
The mathematical central point of a distribution of scores.
Measure of Central Tendency
The measure that indicates the location of the most of the distribution on a variable. (Mean, median & mode)
Median
The most frequently occuring score in a distribution.
Nominal
A scale in which each score does not indicate an amount.
Observation
The acquisition of information about identifiable variables from a primary source.
Ordinal
A scale in which the scores designate rank order.
Naturalistic Observation
Recording people’s behaviour in their natural environments with little or no personal intervention.
Psychobiographical Research
A longitudinal analysis of particular individuals, usually outstanding persons, celebrities, and leaders, representing different countries or cultures.
Qualitative Research
Research that does not involve measurement or statistical procedures.
Quantitative Research
The systematic investigation of psychlogical phenomena by means of statistical or mathematical data and various computational techniques.
Ratio
A scale in which the scores reflect the true amount of the present variable, and zero truly means that zero amount of the variable is is present.
Relativist Approach
A view in cross-cultural psychology that psychological phenomena should be studied only from “within” a culture where these phenomena occur.
Representative Sample
A sample having characteristics that accurately reflect the characteristics of the population.
Survey
The investigative method in which groups of people answer questions about their opinions or behaviour.
