Controversy - Cultural Bias Flashcards
What is cultural bias?
Why does it exist?
People from a particular culture make assumptions about others within another culture.
Smith and Bonds - 66% of studies in were American, 32% European and 2% rest of world. Over represent American and European studies, hiding significant cultural differences in behaviour around the the world.
What are cross cultural studies?
What are the 2 main approaches?
Natural experiment where the IV is is like child rearing techniques in different cultures and the DV is behaviour shown.
Emic approach - behaviours specific to one or a few cultures. The researcher studies culture from within the culture.
Etic approach - behaviours are thought to be universal. Studies a culture from the outside without specific reference to culture.
Why might an etic approach lead to cultural bias?
Why might an emic aooroach lead to cultural bias?
What’s an imposed ETIC?
ETIC - assume universal in behaviour and therefore May misinterpret culturally specific behaviours. Differences are wrongly emphasised and so westernised views applied to all cultures.
EMIC - western researchers attempt an Emic approach and immerse themselves in a culture they may not be fully receptive to local meanings . May engage in ethnocentrism where culturally specific behaviours is viewed negatively or abnormal.
Imposed ETIC - treating an emic behaviour as if it were an ETIC behaviour.
What did John Snarey find?
What can be argued about Kohlberg?
Criticism?
People from poor rural or village cultures never reasoned at level 3. It’s assumed that people from poorer, rural villages in turkey and Kenya may not reach the highest level of moral reasoning. John Sandy found majority reason at level 2 or e Lowe where Kohlberg found white Chicago boys reason at level 3.
Kohlberg - level 3 emphasises individual morality and personal responsibility. This reflects individualism in western cultures but not other areas.
Criticisms - kohlbergs theory is an example of imposed theory. rural communities seem to be less morally developed when morality may be different.
What did Buss investigate?
His procedures?
David Buss aimed to investigate if evolutionary explanations in human mate preference are influenced or changed by norms/values within different cultures, locations and religions.
Questionnaire to 37 samples from 33 countries and 5 islands - 10,047 pts. Every country had at least 100 pts except Iran at 55.
Considered and altered the questions to reflect a range of romantic relationships like polygamy avoiding ethnocentric judgments.
Translators were also used to ensure all ppts understood. Sensitive to local emics.
What’s a benefit of cross cultural studies?
What problems could there be?
Increased external validity - behaviour studied is more representative. There’s a greater understanding of cultural diversity reducing intolerance.
May oversimplify cultures - individualist instead of collectivist. Difficulties translating, cost and time pressures.
What study found cultural differences?
What can be argued about the differences found?
What issues are there with using a questionnaire?
Myers’s and Diener - found subjective well being was higher in individualist cultures.
Avoided cultural bias and simply reported on cultural differences.
However, the differences found in well being between individualist and collectivist societies could be due to cultural bias.
Often used a questionnaire- May operationalise well being in a particular way that may not represent well being g in other cultures.
What is ethnocentrism?
What is eurocentrism?
What has been argued about ethnocentric views?
Own cultural group as a basis for judgement about others - seen as deviant or ignored.
Eurocentrism - view European Norms and values as being typical, then wrongly applied following nomothetic goals.
Ethnocentric viewpoints are a key cognitive factor in the development of prejudicial and racist views.
What’s the opposite of ethnocentrism?
Is it still possible to have cultural bias?
Cultural relativism - all cultures are worthy of respect and that in studying another culture we need to try to understand the way that particular culture sees the world.
Still possible to have cultural bias:
Alpha - assume there are real differences between cultures and ignore similarities.
Beta - no differences and end up viewing locally specific behaviour in a universal context.
How many psychologist in 1992 were American?
What did they form?
How is this achieved ?
Rosenzweig - 64% of the worlds 56,000 researchers in psychology are American.
They have mainly taken on the role of researchers and ppts. Form the core of the first world psychology by managing international centre and manipulating the structure which is exported to other countries. Achieved by control over books,journalists, training centres etc..
What did Moghaddam say?
What are the majority of researchers and ppts in psychology referred to as?
American researchers and ppts share the same lifestyles and values. Very different to the majority.
Heinrich et al - WEIRD - westernised, educated people from industrialised, rich democracies.
Then commonly applied and,culture is not considered - bias.
What evidence is there that cultural bias may be reducing?
Cultural globalisation?
Increasing involvement of non western countries - indigenous psychology.
Defined by Kim and berry as the scientific study of human behaviour or mind that is native, that is not transported from other regions and that is designed for its people.
Another reason is increasing cultural globalisation - transmission of ideas meaning and value in a way as to extend and intensify social relations. More aware and more likely to be exposed to people and ideas from different cultures. More aware of a need to avoid cultural bias.
