culture bias evaluation Flashcards
Individualism and collectivism
when psychologists have made reference to “culture” they have done so within the context of the individualist- collectivist distinction
However, critics have suggested, in the age of global communication that such a lazy and simplistic distinction between cultures no longer applies
what did Yohtaro Takano and Eiko Osako (1999) find in regards to individualist and collectivist cultures
they found that 14 out of 15 studies that compared the USA and Japan found no evidence of the traditional distinction between individualism and collectivism
This could perhaps suggest that cultural bias in research is less of an issue than it once was
cultural relativism versus universality
Berry’s concept of imposed etic is a useful reminder to psychologists of the culturally specific nature of their work and it should not be assumed that all psychology is culturally relative and that there is no such thing as universal behaviour
HOWEVER,
Research (e.g. Ekman 1989) suggests that basic facial expressions for emotions (e.g. happiness, disgust) are the same all over the human and animal world and critiques of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation should not obscure the fact that some features of human attachment e.g. imitation and interaction synchrony are universal
Therefore, a full understanding of human behaviour requires the study of both universal and variations among individuals and groups
unfamiliarity with research tradition
when conducting research in so-called “Western cultures” the participants’ familiarity with the general aim and objectives of scientific enquiry is assumed
However, the same knowledge and “faith” in scientific testing may not extend to cultures that do not have the same historical experience of research
for this reason, demand characteristic may be exaggerated when working with members of the population (Bond and Smith 1996) and this may have an adverse effect on the validity pf the research
