Cultural bias

Question 1

What is cultural bias?

Answer 1

The tendency to judge all people in terms of your own cultural assumptions; this biases or distorts judgement

Question 2

What is alpha bias in reference to culture?

Answer 2

Exaggerates the differences between cultures

Question 3

What is an example of alpha bias?

Answer 3

Distinction made between individualist and collectivist cultures (e.g. USA & Japan) regarding conformity (Takano & Osaka 14/15 studies they did not support the common view about differences in conformity)

Question 4

What is beta bias?

Answer 4

Theories that ignore/minimise cultural differences; they do this by assuming that all people are the same and therefore the theory should apply equally well

Question 5

What is an example of beta bias?

Answer 5

IQ tests - made in Western culture for people of western culture making them appear smarter and non-western people appear less intelligent (Wober)

Question 6

What is ethnocentrism?

Answer 6

Seeing things from the point of view of ourselves and our social group; evaluating others using the standards and customs of ones own culture

Question 7

How is ehtnocentrism an example of alpha bias?

Answer 7

Because ones own culture is considered to be different and better which ends up devaluing other cultures i.e. individualist cultures value independence while collectivist cultures value dependence (something undesirable in individualist cultures)

Question 8

How is ethnocentrism an example of beta bias?

Answer 8

Leads to beta bias if psychologists believe their world view is the only view
e.g. American IQ tests being distributed all over the world assuming the American standard was universal

Question 9

What is cultural relativism?

Answer 9

The idea that all cultures are worthy of respect and we need to try to understand the way that a particular culture sees the world

Question 10

How can cultural relativism lead to alpha bias?

Answer 10

Where the assumption of real differences leads psychologists to overlook universals

Question 11

How can cultural relativism lead to beta bias?

Answer 11

By assuming the same rules apply universally we may diagnose some people as mental ill, but that diagnosis is relative to culture e.g. diagnosing someone with schizophrenia for hearing voices