Cultural bias

Question 1

Explain what is meant by Universality.

Answer 1

Any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to all, despite differences of upbringing & experience.

Question 2

Explain what is meant by a culture bias.

Answer 2

The act of interpreting and judging behaviour and psychological characteristics of one culture by holding them to the standards/view of your own.

e.g an IMPOSED ETIC – where a researcher develops a theory or measurement of behaviour within a culture and then applies it to other cultures.

Question 3

Explain what an EMIC and ETIC approach to research is.

Answer 3

• An ETIC approach looks at behaviour from the outside of a given culture and attempts to describe behaviours that are UNIVERSAL.
• An EMIC approach looks within cultures and identifies behaviours that are SPECIFIC to that culture.

Question 4

Explain what is meant by ethnocentrism and give an example.

Answer 4

Ethnocentrism is a belief that ONE CULTURAL GROUP IS SUPERIOR. Leading to any behaviour that does not conform to the dominant (typically Western) model are seen as somehow DEFICIENT or ABNORMAL.

For example, African Americans were assumed to be less intelligent when tested on a white made and standardized IQ test.

Question 5

Give examples of culture bias.

Answer 5

Ainsworth - Strange Situation
Mead - cultural study of gender
DSM
IQ testing

Question 6

Explain what is meant by cultural relativity.

Answer 6

It argues the things that are observed in research may only make sense (i.e. they are only RELATIVE) from the perspective of the culture being observed. They shouldn’t be applied to other cultures.

Question 7

Evaluate the Culture Bias in Psychology.

Answer 7

(-) Culture biases can have significant implications (e.g in IQ testing)
(+) There are practical applications (e.g understanding cultural differences has led to updates in DSM)
(-) There are sometimes biases in research and sampling (e.g in one social psychology text book 98% of studies were American/ European).
(-/+) Cultural differences should not be assumed (e.g there are some universal behaviours – like face expressions).

Question 8

What is ethnocentrism?

Answer 8

A form of cultural bias, based on the belief that one’s own cultural group is superior.

Question 9

What is an etic approach?

Answer 9

When a researcher imposes their own cultural views on the rest of the world.

Question 10

What is an emic approach?

Answer 10

Functions within a culture and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture.