Cultural Bias Flashcards
What is culture bias?
Culture bias refers to the tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpreting all human behaviour from the perspective of your own culture.
This means that cultural differences in behaviour may be seen as ‘abnormal’ or ‘inferior’.
What is ethnocentrism?
Ethnocentrism is a type of culture bias which involves judging other cultures by the standards and values of one’s own culture. In its extreme form it is the belief that one’s own group is central or superior which may lead to discrimination and prejudice towards other cultures.
Give an example of ethnocentrism in psychology
Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation is an example of ethnocentrism.
She is criticised as only reflecting the norms and values of American culture. She identifies the key defining variable in attachment as the child’s experience of separation anxiety. She suggested the ideal (or secure) attachment is characterised by the infant showing moderate levels of stress when left alone by the mother figure.
This led to misinterpretation of child-rearing practises in other countries which deviates from the American norm. For example, German mothers were seen as cold and rejecting rather than encouraging independence in their children.
Thus, the Strange Situation was revealed as an inappropriate measure of attachment for non-American children.
What are the two approaches in the study of human behaviour?
- Etic approach
* Emic approach
What is an Etic approach?
An etic approach studies one culture and then attempts to apply it universally
Give an example of an etic approach and why it is considered etic
Ainsworth’s Strange Situation research is an example of an imposed etic as she assumes the US based model of classifying attachment was the norm, she imposed her own cultural understanding on the rest of the world.
What is an emic approach?
An emic approach functions from within certain cultures and attempts to identify behaviours that are specific to that culture. The findings are not generalised to other cultures so it avoids the issue of imposed etic.
What is cultural relativism?
Cultural relativism is the idea that behaviour, norms, values, ethics and moral standards can only be meaningfully understood within the specific culture in which it originates.
It assumes all cultures are worthy of respect and assumes that when studying another culture we need to try and understand the way that particular culture sees the world. In this way cultural relativism can be seen as the opposite of ethnocentrism.
Give an example of cultural relativism in psychology
Cultural relativism is often discussed in the context of defining mental illness. In the statistical infrequency definition of abnormality, behaviours that are statistically infrequent in one culture may be statistically frequent in another.
For example, one symptom of schizophrenia is hearing voices however, this is a common experience in some cultures. By assuming that the same rules apply universally, we may diagnose some people as mentally ill, when the diagnosis should be relative to our own culture.
Demonstrations of intelligence in Western culture involve completing tasks quickly. However, the Baganda people of Uganda characterise intelligence as slow, careful and deliberate thought.
- Why do intelligence tests illustrate ethnocentrism?
- Why do intelligence tests illustrate imposed etic?
- Explain why culturally based intelligence tests may lead to racial stereotyping and discrimination of certain groups
- IQ tests reflect the Western ideal of mental quickness. When conducted on the Baganda people, they are unlikely to complete the test. This slowness of thinking is likely to be interpreted as lack of intelligence.
- Intelligence tests have been devised in the West and used to test IQ in other cultures
- People from different ethnic groups may be labelled incorrectly as less intelligent than people from Western culture.
EVALUATION OF CULTURE BIAS
Outline the evaluation points for culture bias
- The distinction between individualistic and collectivist cultures
- The recognition of both cultural relativism and universals
- Cross-cultural research is prone to demand characteristics
- Difficulty with the interpretation of variables
- Cross-cultural research challenges Western assumptions
EVALUATION OF CULTURE BIAS
Evaluate the distinction between individualistic and collectivist cultures
One limitation is the distinction between individualism and collectivism. Psychologists have often referred to culture in the context of individualism vs. Collectivism. Individualist cultures (the West - US) value the individual and independence. Collectivist cultures (the East - India) value the group and interdependence.
However, critics argue this is a simplistic distinction that no longer applies. Takano and Osaka found 14/15 studies comparing the US and Japan found no evidence of distinction between the two types of cultures.
This suggests that cultural bias in research b is less of an issue than it once was.
EVALUATION OF CULTURE BIAS
Evaluate the need for both cultural relativism and universal
One strength is the recognition of both cultural relativism and universals.
Research suggests that basic facial expressions for emotions (such as happiness and disgust) are the same all over the world. Critics of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation should not obscure the fact that there are some features of human attachment such as interactional synchrony and imitation that are the same throughout the world.
This suggests that a complete understanding of human behaviour requires the study of both universals and variations amongst individuals and groups.
EVALUATION OF CULTURE BIAS
Evaluate how some cultures are unfamiliar with research tradition
One limitation is cross-cultural research is prone to demand characteristics.
When conducting research in Western culture the participants’ familiarity with the general aims and objectives of scientific enquiry is assumed. However, cultures without historical experience of research may be more affected by demand characteristics than Western participants.
For this reason, demand characteristics may be exaggerated when working with the members of the local population, and this may threaten the validity of the research.
EVALUATION OF CULTURE BIAS
Evaluate different cultures’ interpretation of variables
A limitation is the difficulties with the interpretation of variables.
Another issue with conducting research in different cultures is that the variables under review may not be experienced in the same way by all participants.
For example, whilst some facial expressions may be universal, the behaviour that arises from different expressions such as anger may differ greatly from an indigenous population than they would in the West.
Issues like these may affect interactions between the researcher and participants in cross-cultural studies and this may reduce the validity of the findings.
