controversy 4 : cultural bias Flashcards
what is a culture?
groups of people that may differ in terms of their norms, behaviours practices, values etc.
what is a subculture?
cultures within cultures, often having varied beliefs or interests than the larger culture
what is ethnocentrism?
the belief that people, customs and traditions of your own race or country are better than others
what is cultural relativism?
the idea that the customs, etc. of a culture should be understood and evaluated based on its own context rather than based on another culture
what is the emic approach?
an insider’s perspective which focuses on culturally specific norms, values and meanings from the perspective of those living within that culture
what is the etic approach?
applies universal concepts across different cultures, studying a culture from outside and observing rather than participating
what is an imposed etic?
when a theory or concept from one culture is incorrectly applied to another, for example, using Western definitions of happiness in non-western cultures
what are Triandis’ 3 major cultural syndromes?
- cultural complexity - the degree of variation in cultural norms, values and practices in a society, in culturally complex societies behaviors like negotiation and open-mindedness are more prominent
- individualism VS collectivism - whether your identity relates to personal choice or by characteristics of the collective group (family/religion), relationship formation in individualistic societies cultures may be based of self-interest while in collectivist cultures it may be based on bettering the family
- tight cultures - these have strong social norms and little tolerance for deviance, e.g. Japan is a tight culture while Thailand is a loose culture, obedience and conformity may differ between tight and loose cultures
(cross cultural) what are cross cultural studies?
- a field of psychology that aims to investigate the effect of cultural practices on human behaviour
- usually natural experiments where the IV is the practice in a culture and DV is the consequent behaviour
- also useful to see which behaviours are universal and genetic, and which are determined by environmental factors
(cross cultural) what are some examples?
- Myers and Diener, Who is Happy
- Kohlberg, The Child as a Moral Philosopher
- Buss, A Stud of Gender Differences in Relationships
(cross cultural) what are the advantages of cross cultural studies?
- it can be determined if a variable/behaviour is genetic or a result of your upbringing and environment
- they challenge cultural bias by highlighting differences and prevents the assumption that Western norms are universal
- they promote cultural relativism by encouraging understanding of behaviour within cultural contexts
(cross cultural) what are the disadvantages of cross cultural studies?
- Western researchers may fail to understand the customs and practices in the cultures they are studying so will misinterpret results, this is ethnocentrism
- tests that have been designed in one culture may not be valid in another culture, this is imposed etic
- people used in the study may not be representative of that culture and generalisations made from that may be incorrect
(difference or bias) why is difference or bias important?
many researchers have found real differences between cultures, but before we know whether there are genuine differences, we need to assess if the comparisons found between cultures are genuine or the result of a bias in the measurement
(difference or bias) why might Myers and Diener show cultural bias?
the subjective wellbeing questionnaire could be culturally biased for many reasons
- Western cultures may define happiness in terms of personal achievements and emotional satisfaction
- collectivist cultures may associate happiness with social harmony rather than individual success
- language bias
*imposed etic and ethnocentrism
(difference or bias) why might the incidence rate of SZ in black Brits be a result of cultural bias?
- misdiagnosis, cultural expressions of distress may be misinterpreted as psychotic symptoms
- Western diagnostic criteria, tools like the DSM are based on Western norms which may not account for culturally specific experiences
- institutional racism, biases in the healthcare system may lead to overdiagnosis or harsher judgements in minorities
*ethnocentrism and imposed etic
(ethnocentrism) what is the impact of ethnocentrism?
leads to biases and a tendency to view cultural differences as abnormal or negatively, it can also make it difficult to see how your own cultural background influences your behaviours
(ethnocentrism) what are some examples of ethnocentrism?
- Holmes and Rahe life events scale
- Mary Ainsworth, the Strange Situation
(ethnocentrism) what are alpha and beta biases? how can they be applied to evidence?
- alpha bias is the assumption there are real differences between cultural groups. Kohlberg’s theory overemphasises differences by suggesting Western, individualistic moral reasoning is superior
- beta bias refers to the theories that ignore or minimise cultural biases. Kohlberg assumes that his stages of moral development are universal
(context) how is psychology culturally biased from a social context?
- most psychological research is carried out on Americans, 66% American + 32% European + 2% rest of the world
- Sears reported that 82% of research uses undergraduates and 51% were psychology students (academic, middle-class, young adults)
- Heinrich suggests psychological research is based on the WEIRD population (Westernised, Educated people from Industrialised, Rich Democracies)
(context) how is psychology culturally biased from a historical context?
- research may not always stand the test of time and the findings may be era dependent so historical context is important
- Bowlby’s research on attachment and separation was conducted 60 years ago
does cultural bias still exist in psychology?
- many psychological theories and diagnostic tools (e.g. DSM) are from Western individualistic values and may not reflect non-Western cultures
- research often relies on WEIRD populations which reduces generalisability
- concepts like intelligence, happiness and mental illness are defined differently across cultures, but Western norms are often treated as universal
how do we deal with the issue of cultural bias?
being aware of potential bias and ethnocentrism. modern psychologists are more open minded
- diversify research samples (non-WEIRD)
- use culturally sensitive measures
- promote cross cultural collaboration (reduce ethnocentric interpretations)
- challenge imposed etics
- encourage more indigenous psychology
