culture bias Flashcards
why is there a limited universality in psychology researchers
as well as being male dominant discipline, psychology is mainly the study of white American males
this limits the universality of research findings
what do critics argue
critics argue that mainstream psychology argue that culture is generally ignored in human behaviour
this means that psychologists have mistakenly presumed that findings derived from studies carried out in an individualist culture can be straight forwardly applied all over the world
what is a study that demonstrates cultural bias
Asch’s study into conformity and Milgram’s study into obedience
these studies were conducted with US participants but the findings were found to be very different when they were replicated in other parts of the world
what is cultural bias
when the norm/standard for particular behaviour is judged only from the standpoint of ithe particular culture
Therefore, any cultural differences in behaviour from this standard will inevitably be seen as “abnormal”, “inferior”, or “unusual”
what is ethnocentrism
this refers to particular form of cultural bias and is a belief in the superiority of one’s cultural group
give an example of ethnocentrism in psychology research
Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (1970) is criticized as reflecting only culture
Ainsworth suggested that the “ideal” (secure) attachment was characterised by the infants moderate amounts of distress when left alone by the mother figure
This leads to misinterpretation of child rearing techniques in other countries which were seen to deviate from the American “norm”
how were German mothers seen as due to ethnocentrism
German mothers were seen as cold and rejecting rather than encouraging independence in their children
therefore, the Strange Situation was revealed as an inappropriate measure of attachment type for non - US children
what is imposed etic
a test, measure or theory devised from one culture that is used to explain behaviour in another culture
what is the emic approach
studying cultures in isolation by identifying behaviours that are specific to that culture
what is the etic approach
studying behaviour across many cultures in order to find universal human behaviour
what research is an example of imposed etic
Ainsworth’s research
This is because it is assuming that the US based model of classifying attachment was the norm, Ainsworth imposed her own cultural understanding upon the rest of the world
who is John Berry
John Berry made the distinction between the etic and emic approaches
what did John Berry argue
Berry argued that psychology has often been guilty in imposing an etic approach when they actually came about through emic research within a single culture
Therefore, psychologists should be more mindful of the cultural relativism of their research. This is a good way to reduce cultural bias
what is cultural relativism
The idea that human behaviour can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts
