Cultural bias

Question 1

What is ethnocentrism?

Answer 1

The assumption that one ethnic group is superior to another and that the behaviour of that group is the ‘norm’

Question 2

What does etic mean?

Answer 2

Looking at behaviour from outside of a given culture and attempting to describe those behaviours that are universal

Question 3

What does emic mean?

Answer 3

Looking at a behaviour within certain cultures and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture

Question 4

What is cultural bias?

Answer 4

Theories/Studies that are labelled as universal when in reality findings only apply to the particular groups of people who were studied

Question 5

What is cultural relativism?

Answer 5

Things that are observed in research may only make sense from the perspective of the culture being observed and so cannot be applied to different cultures

Question 6

Damaging effects?

Answer 6

Can have damaging effects and create/reinforce stereotypes
For example, old US army test was biased towards white Americans, African Americans were believed to have lower IQ

Question 7

Indigenous psychologies?

Answer 7

Increased understanding has led to development of indigenous psychologies: theories drawing explicitly on the particular experiences of people in different cultural contexts, such as Afrocentrism

Question 8

Diagnosing disorders?

Answer 8

Progress in the field of diagnosing mental disorders
For example, early version of American DSM system ignored disorders found mainly/exclusively in non American cultures, this was updated in 1994