Culture Bias Flashcards
What is culture?
The ideas, customs & social behaviour of a particular group of people.
What is universality?
The assumption that research can be generalised globally & applied to all humans.
What is cultural bias?
A tendency to ignore cultural differences and judge people based on your own cultural assumptions.
What is ethnocentrism?
Judging people based on your own cultural group.
Can lead to alpha/beta bias.
What is alpha bias?
Assuming there are real differences between cultural groups because you see your own culture as better.
What is beta bias?
Ignoring cultural differences - assuming all theories can be applied to all cultural groups.
What is an etic?
An approach that looks at behaviours from the outside of a culture & applies it universally.
What is an emic?
An approach that looks within cultures to identify behaviours specific to that culture.
What is cultural relativism?
The idea that cultural norms and values are culture specific and no-one culture is superior to another culture.
How can cultural relativism lead to alpha bias?
- Margaret Mead initially concluded there were significant gender differences due to culture
- She later recognised there were universals related to biology - men in all cultures being more aggressive than women
How does cultural relativism apply to defining mental disorders?
- Behaviours statistically infrequent in one culture may be more frequent in others
- Eg. schizophrenia - hearing voices is rare in Western cultures but common in others
- By assuming same rules apply universally, can result in people being misdiagnosed
