Cultural Bias

Question 1

What is cultural bias?

Answer 1

The tendency to judge all people by your own cultural assumption

Question 2

How does traditional psychology show cultural bias?

Answer 2

People from western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic (WEIRD) societies represented 80% of study participants, but only 12% of the world’s population

Question 3

How was mainstream psychology ignored culture?

Answer 3

• Mainstream psychology has ignored culture as an influence on human behaviour. Assuming findings from western countries can be applied all over the world
• e.g Kilham and Mann replicated Milgram’s study in Australia and obedience rate was 40% (compared to 65% in the US)

Question 4

What are the 2 ways in which research may be culturally biased?

Answer 4

Hare-Mustin and Marecek suggest it is alpha bias (exaggerating cultural differences) and beta bias (underestimating cultural differences)

Question 5

Give an example of alpha bias in research (social influence)

Answer 5

• The distinction made between individualist and collectivist cultures (US and Japan) in relation to social behaviour
• e.g. Markus and Kitayama argue research often says we expect individualist cultures to be less conformist as they’re less oriented towards groups norms
• However Takano and Osaka reviewed 15 studies that compare US and Japan in terms of individualism and collectivism. They found 14/15 studies didn’t support the common view.

Question 6

Give an example of beta bias is research (psychopathology)

Answer 6

• Cochrane and Sahidharan found African-Carribean immigrants are 7x more likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness
• This has led to questions around the validity of the DSW and ICD (diagnostic manuals of mental illness used in the US and Europe) for diagnosing individuals born outside of the dominant culture

Question 7

What is ethnocentrism?

Answer 7

Using our own culture as a basis to judge others. In it’s extreme form, it’s the belief in the superiority of one’s own culture (example of alpha bias and leads to beta bias)

Question 8

What is cultural relativism?

Answer 8

The view that behaviour can’t be judged unless it’s viewed in the context of the culture in which it originates

Question 9

Give evaluation for cultural bias (how does bias occur?)

Answer 9

• Cultural bias comes from issues with samples
• Bond and Smith surveyed research in a European textbook on social psychology. They found 66% of studies were American, 32% were European while 2% came from the rest of the world
• Suggests psychology findings are unrepresentative on a global scale and within Western culture

Question 10

Give evaluation for cultural bias (implications of bias)

Answer 10

• Culturally bias research creates and reinforces stereotypes
• An example of damage done through culture bias was the US Army IQ test, used before WWI. Tests showed European immigrants fell slightly below white Americans, in terms of IQ, and African Americans had the lowest mental age.
• This led to data having a profound effect on attitudes held by Americans towards certain ethnic minorities, showing how damaging stereotypes created by cultural bias is.

Question 11

Give evaluation for cultural bias (how do we overcome bias?)

Answer 11

• Cultural psychology is, according to Dov Cohen, the study of how people are shaped by their culture. It’s an emerging field and incorporates work from researchers in other disciplines (sociology and political science)
• Cultural psychologist aim to avoid ethnocentrism by taking an emic approach and conducting research inside a culture, with a local researcher, using culturally based techniques.
• Suggests how modern psychologists are mindful of the dangers of cultural bias and are taking steps to avoid it

Question 12

Give evaluation for cultural bias (differing views on issue)

Answer 12

• There’s an emic-etic distinction
• The emic approach aims to identify behaviors relative to that culture. Leads to findings being only significant to understanding behaviour within that culture.
• While, the etic approach tries to find trends that can be universal behaviour, which can be achieved through using indigenous researchers in each cultural setting
• e.g. David Buss et al studied mate preferences using data collected in 37 different cultures, using local researchers for translations and discrepancies.
• This allows researchers to investigate universal behaviour, while avoiding cultural bias.