Culture Bias* Flashcards
How many psychology researchers were American in 1992?
64% of 56,000
In Baron and Byrne’s 1991 social psychology textbook, how many of the studies cited were conducted in North America?
94%
What group of people is psychology dominated by?
White American males
What do many psychologists routinely claim to have done?
Discovered ‘universal facts’ about human behaviour despite their studies being restricted to particular parts of the world.
Psychology claims to explain behaviour for people all over the world, what’s the truth?
Findings from studies only apply to the particular group of people who were studied.
What have critics argued about mainstream psychology?
It generally ignored the influence of culture on human behaviour, assuming that findings from studies in western cultures can be applied all over the world.
Do Asch’s (conformity) and Milgram’s (obedience) studies have universality?
No, they were conducted with only US citizens. Replications in other parts of the world (eg. Kilham and Mann 1974) found very different results.
What is cultural bias?
If the standard for a behaviour is judged from only one culture, any cultural differences in behaviour that deviate from this standard will be seen as abnormal or inferior.
What is ethnocentrism?
Judging other cultures by the standards and values of one’s own culture. Belief in the superiority of one’s own cultural group.
How does ethnocentrism fit in psychological research?
Through views that any behaviours that don’t conform to the model (usually based on western culture) are deficient, unsophisticated and underdeveloped.
Name a study that is an example of ethnocentrism in psychological research
Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (1970)
Why is the strange situation and example of ethnocentric research?
It reflects only the norms and values of American culture. The key defining variable of attachment type was the child’s experience of anxiety from separation. The ideal was described as moderate amounts of distress when left alone. This made German mothers appear cold and rejecting as they encourage independence of their children which deviated from the ‘norm’. So the SS is only appropriate for US children.
Why is the strange situation an example of imposed etic?
AInsworth assumed the US-based model for classifying attachment was the norm and imposed her own cultural understanding on the rest of the world.
What distinction did Berry (1969) draw between etic and emic approaches in the study of human behaviour?
Etic approach; looks at behaviour from outside of a given culture and tries to describe behaviours that are universal.
Emic approach; looks within certain cultures and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture.
Why does Berry argue that psychology is often guilty of imposing an etic approach?
It claims that theories, models and concepts are universal when they really were made with emic research in a single culture.
To solve this it is suggested that psychologists should be more mindful of the cultural relitivism of their research, that their discoveries may only make sense from within that culture.
