I + D : Cultural Bias

Question 1

Americans and students over represented in research

Answer 1

Heinrich (‘10) - Review found out of research pps
68% of came from US
96% from industrialised nations

Arnett (‘08) - 80% were psychology undergrads

Question 2

WEIRD people set standard - Heinrich

Answer 2

Ppl most likely to be studied by psychologists = Westernised Educated ppl from Industrialised Rich Democracies

The norm is set by WEIRD so behaviour of everyone else is seen as abnormal

Question 3

Ethnocentrism - superiority of own culture

Answer 3

this may be communicated through a view that any behaviour that doesn’t conform to European/US standards is made deficient

Question 4

Cultural relativism - helps to avoid cultural bias - emic approach

Answer 4

Facts psychologists discover may only apply to the culture in which they were discovered

CR looks at behaviour from inside a culture + identifies behaviour specific to the culture

Question 5

Universality - etic approach

Answer 5

looks at behaviour from outside a given culture + identifies behaviour that universal

Question 6

Example of ethnocentrism - the Strange Situation

Answer 6

Attachment type reflects norms of US culture

Suggests ideal attachment = baby showing moderate distress when separated from mother

Leads to misinterpretation of other cultural child rearing practices e.g. Japanese babies rarely alone => more separtion anxiety => classed as insecure attachment

Question 7

(L) Many classic studies are culturally biased

Answer 7

Both Asch + Milgram’s studies used white middle-class US pps

=> replications in diff cultures show diff results e.g. Asch in collectivist found sig. higher conformity than US (individualistic)

Suggests - topics like social influence should only be applied to individualist culture

Question 8

COUNTER to many studies being culturally biased - Individualist/Collectivist distinction doesn’t apply

Answer 8

Takano & Osaka (1999) found 14/15 studies comparing the US and Japan found no evidence of these dofferences

Suggests => cultural bias in research may be less of an issue in recent psychological research

Question 9

(S) The emergence of cultural psychology - emic approach

Answer 9

The study of how ppl shape and are shaped by cultural experience - Cohen (2017)

Research conducted in a culture often w/ local researcher using culturally biased techniques

Suggests modern psychologists are mindful of cultural bias + trying to avoid it

Question 10

(L) Ethnic stereotyping - Gould (1981)

Answer 10

Explained how first IQ led to eugenic social policies in US

During WWI - gave test to 1.75 mil. recruits => tests were ethnocentric

(e.g.) name US presidents meant south-eastern european and AA scored lowest + deemed genetically inferior

Shows => how bias can be used to justify prejudice + discrimination towards ethnic groups