Issues and debates: cultural bias

Question 1

What is cultural bias?

Answer 1

Overlooking cultural differences by looking at human behaviour from the perspective of your own culture.

Question 2

What is cultural relativism?

Answer 2

The idea is that cultural norms and values are culture-specific and no one culture is superior to another culture. culture only makes sense within that specific culture and so cant be generalised.

Question 3

What is ethnocentrism?

Answer 3

A type of cultural bias that involves judging other cultures by the standards and values of one’s own culture.

Question 4

What is culture?

Answer 4

The distinctive customs, values, beliefs, knowledge, art and language of a society or community.

Question 5

What is alpha bias?

Answer 5

Theories that assume there is a real and enduring difference between cultural groups.

Question 6

What is beta bias?

Answer 6

Theories that ignore or minimise cultural differences. Assumes people are all the same.

Question 7

What is the Etic approach?

Answer 7

Studying behaviour across many cultures in order to find universal human behaviours.

Question 8

What is the Emic approach?

Answer 8

Studying cultures in isolation by identifying behaviours that are specific to that culture.

Question 9

What’s a collectivist culture?

Answer 9

Refers to countries like India and China where people are thought put the needs of the group/ community first.

Question 10

What’s an individualist culture?

Answer 10

Refers to countries like the US, where people are thought to prioritise individual needs over the needs of the group.

Question 11

How does ethnocentrism lead to alpha bias?

Answer 11

One’s own culture is considered to be different and better, and the consequences of this is that other cultures and their practices are devalued. For example, in individualistic cultures independence is valued and dependence devalued, whereas in collectivist cultures dependence seems to be more highly valued.

Question 12

How does ethnocentrism lead to beta bias?

Answer 12

If psychologists believe their world view is the only view. For example, in the case of IQ testing the western IQ test was used across the world because there was an assumption that the American standard was universal.

Question 13

How does cultural relativism lead to alpha bias?

Answer 13

Leads to the assumption of real differences lead to psychologists to overlook universals. E.g. research in papa new guinea where she initially concluded there were gender differences due to cultural

Question 14

How does cultural relativism lead to beta bias?

Answer 14

Statical infrequency where behaviours that are statically infrequent in one culture may be in another culture, by assuming the same rules apply.

Question 15

A03 of cultural bias

Answer 15

• Prone to demand characteristics
  + Cultural bias and stereotypes
  + Indigenous psychologies
  + Cultural bias in textbooks

Question 16

Prone to demand characteristics: cultural bias

Answer 16

When conducting research in western culture the participant’s familiarity with the general aims and objectives of scientific research is assumed to be already known. In cultures without historical experience of research, local populations may be less affected by demand characteristics than western participants. This is a weakness because unfamiliarity with the research tradition threatens the validity of the outcome.

Question 17

Cultural bias and stereotypes: cultural bias

Answer 17

Culturally biased research can have significant real-world effects by, for example amplifying and validating damaging stereotypes. The US Army used an IQ test before WW1 which was culturally biased toward the dominant white majority. Unsurprisingly, the test showed that African-Americans were at the bottom of the IQ scale. This matters because this had a negative effect on the attitudes of American’s toward this group of people, which highlights the negative impact that culturally biased research can have.

Question 18

Cultural bias in textbooks: cultural bias

Answer 18

One way to deal with cultural bias is to recognise it when it occurs. Smith and Bond found in their 1998 survey of European textbooks on social psychology, that 66% of the studies were American, 32% European and only 2% from the rest of the world. This suggests that psychological research is severely unrepresentative and can be greatly improved by simply selecting different cultural groups to study. Therefore, just by appreciating and understanding cultural bias can help psychologists to avoid and overcome this issue

Question 19

Indigenous psychologies: cultural bias

Answer 19

Counter to ethnocentrism: encourage psychologies in all countries to produce their own theories for their own culture. Afrocentrism produces theories that apply to African-centred people. Even if you live in Europe, they believe that European culture has no application to you.