Culture And Gender Flashcards
1
Q
Definition of Culture
A
The ideas, customs, and social behaviours of a particular people or society.
2
Q
Definition of Emic and Etic Approach
A
- Emic approach -> studying a culture from within, the researcher’s own culture
- Etic approach -> behaviour is observed by outsiders, the researcher studies a culture that is not their own
3
Q
Definition of Individualistic Culture
A
This is where individuals focus on benefitting themselves e.g. USA, UK
4
Q
Definition of Collectivist Culture
A
This is where values such as cooperation are more important e.g. China
5
Q
Definition of Gender
A
The state of being male or female with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones.
6
Q
Definition of Androcentric Bias, Alpha Bias and Beta Bias
A
- Androcentric bias -> when the research is focused or centred in males only
- Alpha bias -> when the differences between men and women are exaggerated
- Beta bias -> when the differences between men and women are minimised e.g. Sherif
7
Q
Culture: Sherif (Debate Points - All American Sample)
A
- Only studied the creation of prejudice in participants from Oklahoma, USA (one specific cultural background), makes his finding ethnocentric with limited generalisability to prejudice in other cultures
- Emic approach, studied prejudice in USA (within an individualistic culture) - acknowledges culturally specific behaviour (tournaments, competition) unrepresentative of collectivist societies (value cooperation more than competition), findings are limited
- Did not consider cultural diversity, improve using cross-cultural research method (boys from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds) - deeper insight into development of group identity and intergroup conflict in diverse cultural settings
8
Q
Gender: Sherif (Debate Points - All Male Sample)
A
- Only tested boys - beta bias, differences in prejudice between boys and girls are minimised, boys in the 1950s socialised to value competition, behaviour more common in a group of boys than mixed-gender or all-girls group
- Androcentric approach - use of only boys limits generalisability to girls or the ways in which gender might impact the creation of prejudice
- Exclusion of girls -> Sherif’s research inadvertently reinforced gendered stereotypes about competition, aggression and leadership - use of both genders would offer valuable insights into how gender influences group identity, conflict, and cooperation
9
Q
Culture: Baddeley (Debate Points - All British Sample)
A
- Only studied memory ability of participants from Britain - Cambridge University (one cultural background), ethnocentric with limited generalisability to other cultures
- Studies memory ability within his own culture (emic approach), ignores other cultures that emphasise different cognitive skills, ethnocentric bias in his interpretations of findings into memory ability
- Studying memory ability which is related to language, language is culturally specific, limits generalisability to the target population
10
Q
Gender: Baddeley (Debate Points - Majority Housewives in the 1960s)
A
- Sample consisted of mainly housewives from Cambridge as volunteers in his memory research -> beta bias, minimised gender differences in memory ability
- Not gender balanced -> findings may not account for potential differences in memory performance between males and females, overlooking such differences may fail to address specific educational or occupational needs of different genders
- 1960s participants usually used in psychological research were predominantly male, educated and rich -> volunteers were mostly housewives from the research panel at Cambridge Uni who do not fit this pattern, more generalisable to females
11
Q
Culture: Raine (Debate Points - All American Sample, Legal System Differences)
A
- In the USA, participants were NGRI offenders from a specific cultural and legal context, ethnocentric bias, limits generalisability of findings about aggression to other cultures with different norms, values, and views on insanity and criminality
- Cultural factors (socioeconomic status, exposure to violence, access to mental health care) not considered, factors may have influence the development of aggression, findings have limited application in explaining the root of aggressive behaviour
- Focus on biological factors, overlooks cultural influence on aggression -. collectivist cultures may emphasise group harmony and non-violent conflict resolution, individualistic cultures may tolerate/justify certain aggressive behaviour, cultural variation not accounted for
- Should consider using a more diverse sample, greater representation of participants from different cultural backgrounds, more comprehensive understanding of aggression and its causes
12
Q
Gender: Raine (Debate Points - 39m/2f, Stereotypes)
A
- Mostly male NGRIs (38m/2f), reflects a significant gender imbalance, but mirrors higher rates of violent crime in men in society -> limits generalisability to female offenders, may differ due to biological or social factors
- Alpha bias -> focuses on brain abnormality, risks reinforcing gender stereotypes about aggression, particularly for men -> emphasis on bio explanations may perpetuate the view that men are naturally more predisposed to violence, doesn’t adequately consider social and environmental influences on behaviour (exaggerated differences in m/f)
- No U.A -> does not address gender differences in emotional processing, hormonal influences (oestrogen, testosterone), and socialisation -> may contribute to different pathways for aggression in m+f, highlights gap in the study’s application to real-life aggression
13
Q
Culture: Watson and Raynor (Debate Points)
A
- Only studied the development of phobias on one participant (Little Albert), a white infant from a western cultural background (America), findings are ethnocentric, limits generalisability to other cultures
- Emic approach, studies phobias from within their own culture (America), acknowledged the cultural perspective of Little Albert
- Did not consider cultural diversity in fear responses and may have been improved by carrying out cross-cultural research using infants from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds (deeper insight into the development of phobias in diverse cultural settings)
14
Q
Gender: Watson and Raynor (Debate Points)
A
- Beta bias, only tested one male infant, differences in fear responses between boys and girls are ignored (gender can influence emotional development - boys encouraged to suppress fear, girls encouraged to express it)
- Limits generalisability of findings into the development of phobias to girls, or to explore the ways in which gender might impact the creation of phobias -> androcentric approach
- Exclusion of girls, inadvertently reinforced gender stereotypes about male responses to fear, a more comprehensive study including both boys and girls, or a gender-diverse group, would offer valuable insight into how gender influences fear responses and the development of phobias
15
Q
Culture: Rosenhan (Debate Points)
A
- Conducted in USA - reflects practices and cultural attitudes of Western psychiatry in the 1970s
- Psychiatric diagnostic systems (DSM) mainly developed in Western contexts, less generalisable to non-Western cultures (different MH practices)
- Non-Western practices = interpretations through spiritual and holistic frameworks, may not heavily rely on formalised psychiatric labels
- Emic approach, focused on the reliability of Western diagnostic tools (DSM) but not addressing cultural differences in diagnosis and treatment of patients in psychiatric hospitals - limits conclusions to only psychiatric practices in America
- Critiques diagnostic systems in Western psychiatry, overlooks impact of cultural biases on mental health practices - use of etic approach to address these factors would provide a more comprehensive understanding of psychiatric diagnoses and treatment vary across difference populations (study more relevant and applicable)
