Issues and debated cultural bias

Question 1

Hamburger, strength

cultural bias is fake news?

Answer 1

A strength is that critics have suggested that in this age of global communication and increased interconnectedness, that such “lazy” and simplistic distinction between cultures no longer applies.

Prior, Western cultures like the Us and Uk were thought to value [personal freedom compared to collectivist cultures like India and China who put more emphasis on interdependence and the needs of the group. Yohtaro Takano and Eiko Osaka (1999) found that 14/15 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.

Question 2

Combo whopper, limitation

UNIVERSALS SHOULD BE ACKNOWLEDGED

Answer 2

Berry’s concept of the imposed etic is a useful reminder to psychologists of the culturally specific nature of their work.

However, it should not be assumed that all psychology is culturally relative and that there is no such thing as universal human behaviour.
Research from Ekman 1989 suggests that basic facial expressions for emotions like disgust are the same in the human and animal worlds. Critiques of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation should not obscure the fact that some features of human attachment like interactional synchrony are universal.

A full understanding of human behaviour requires the study of both universals and variation among individuals and groups.

Question 3

Double whopper, limitation

DEMAND CHARCTERISTICS

Answer 3

A limitation is that when conducting research in western culture the PPS’ familiarity with the general aims and the objectives of scientific enquiry is assumed, however these mightn’t be applicable to other cultures without the same historical experiences in research.
Therefore, demand characteristics may be exaggerated when working with members of the local population (Bond and Smith 1996) which may have an adverse effect on the validity of the research.

Question 4

Double whopper,limitation

behavioural expressions may differ acorss diferrent cultures

Answer 4

A limitation with conducting research in different cultures is that the variables under review may not be experienced in the same way by all PPS.

For example, the behavioural expression of emotion such as “aggression” may give rise to different behaviours within an indigenous population than they would in the West. In China, the invasion of personal space is seen as normal, whereas in the West this may be seen as threatening or confrontational.

Issues like these may affect interactions between the researcher and PPS, or between western and non-western PPS in cross cultural studies

Question 5

Double whooper, strength

More valid to acknowledge the culture the study takes place in

Answer 5

A strength of conducting cross-cultural research is that it may challenge our typically Western ways of thinking and viewing the world.
Being able to see that some of the knowledge and concepts we take for granted are not shared by other people around the world and promote a greater sensitivity to individual difference and cultural relativism in the future.
This counters the “scientific racism” that’s been made against some psychological theories in the past but also means that the conclusions psychologists draw are likely to have more validity if they include recognition of the role of culture in bringing them about.