cultural bias controversy Flashcards
4 points?
- cross cultural studies
- difference or bias
- ethnocentrism
- historical and social context
define culture?
Groups of people that may differ in terms of their norms, behaviours, practices, language, values, beliefs, ethnic background, language, location. It is not the same as nationality: you could live in a particular country, but belong to another culture.
define subculture?
culture that is separate from the main culture with different norms and values. way of life may be similar and different
ethnocentrism ?
tendency to judge other cultures based on the values of one’s own culture, often leading to the belief that one’s culture is superior. In psychology, it can cause researchers to apply culturally specific theories or norms (often Western) to other cultures, leading to misunderstandings or biased conclusions. For example, defining mental health, intelligence, or happiness using Western criteria may overlook cultural differences in how these concepts are experienced or valued.
define cultural relativism ?
the idea that behaviours, values, and norms should be understood and evaluated based on a culture’s unique context rather than judged by the standards of another culture. In psychology, it emphasizes that mental health, emotions, and social norms may differ across cultures, requiring culturally sensitive research methods and interpretations. For example, symptoms of mental illness might manifest differently in Western and non-Western cultures, challenging the use of Western diagnostic criteria globally.
emic approach ?
studies behaviour from within a specific culture, aiming to understand it from the perspective of members of that culture. It focuses on culturally specific norms, values, and meanings rather than applying universal theories. For example, studying how mental health is defined within Indigenous communities would be an emic approach, as it reflects culturally specific experiences and interpretations.
etic approach ?
studies applies universal theories and concepts across different cultures. It assumes that certain psychological principles are consistent across human societies. For example, the acute stress response.
imposed etic approach ?
occurs when a theory or concept from one culture is incorrectly applied to another culture without considering cultural differences. It assumes that psychological processes are universal when they may not be. For example, using Western definitions of mental health or happiness in non-Western cultures would be an imposed etic because it overlooks culturally specific understandings and expressions.
how do cultures differ - 3 major cultural syndromes ?
triandis identified 3 major cultural syndromes that is ways in which cultures differ
1 - cultural complexity
2 - individualism VS collectivism
3 - tight cultures
cultural complexity ?
refers to the degrees of variation in cultural norms and values. in more complex cultures theres are often diverse beliefs and traditions and multicultural influences. in cultural complex societies behaviours such as open mindfulness and negotiation are more prominent due to the presence of diverse social groups.
individualism Vs collectivism ?
Capitalistic societies tend to be individualistic where as socialist countries tend to be collectivist. In terms of psychology relationship formation in individualistic cultures may be based on love and self interest, whereas in collectivist cultures people tend to form relationships based on what is best for their family.
tight cultures ?
are those with strong social norms and little tolerance for deviance. For example Japan is a tight culture and Thailand is a loose culture. Psychological variables like obedience and conformity may differ according to cultural complexity with more tight cultures being more obedient and conforming.
what it a cross cultural study ?
studies that aim to investigate the effect of various cultural practices on human behaviour
what type of study normally occurs in cross cultural studies and an example?
These are usually natural experiments where the IV is practices within a culture and the DV is the behaviour.
- For example, investigating raising a child and the result of this on their behaviour. If you are strict parent, will the behaviour be aggressive? This allows researchers to see if variations in levels of aggression are due to the different culturally determined child raising techniques.
what is one way to address culture bias?
conduct cross cultural studies as it allows us to investigate whether cultural practices affect our behaviour, they’re also useful as they allow us to see which behaviours are universal and genetic which are determined by environmental factors
example of cross cultural study ?
Myers and diener - who is happy
aim - to investigate the factors contributing to happiness
addressed cultural differences - studied happiness in both individualistic and collectivist cultures highlighting cultural variations in the sources of happiness
potential biases - sampling bias towards western cultures
advantage of cross cultural ?
- The big advantage is that you can determine whether a psychological variable or behaviour is genetic or if is a result of upbringing and your environment. (Buss’ research suggested mate preferences were universal)
-cross cultural studies challenges Cultural Bias by highlighting differences and prevents the assumption that Western norms are universal. Myers and Diener found there were cross cultural differences in happiness.
- they promote Cultural Relativism by encouraging understanding of behaviour within cultural contexts.
what must we not confuse ?
real differences with bias, many studies have found real differences between cultures
why might myers and diener study may show cultural bias through measuring tool
a subjective well being questionnaire could be culturally biased because the concept of happiness varies across cultures for example:
- western cultures may define happiness in terms of personal achievement
- collectivists cultures may associate happiness with social harmony and fulfilling group obligations rather than individual success
- language bais
- this is an example of an imposed etic and ethnocentrism
example of bias in psychology and issue ?
- black people are more likley to be diagnosed with SZ
- are black people genuinely more likely to suffer from SZ or is there a bias in the way we diagnose, this has implications for treatment
why may the higher diagnosis of black people and SZ be culturally bias ?
- misdiagnosis - cultural expressions of distress may be misinterpreted as psychotic symptoms
- western centric DSM - based on western norms which may not account for culturally specific experiences
- institutional racism - bias in healthcare system may lead to overdiagnosis or harsher clinical judgements for minority groups
impact of ethnocentrism ?
leads to biases and a tendancy to view cultural differences as abnormal or a negative light.
