ISSUES AND DEBATES - culture bias Flashcards
universlaity recap
if psych is a scientific study of human behaviour then it should be standardized meaning should be able to be applied to all people
what is culture bias
tendency to judge people in terms of one’s own cultural assumptions
in 2010 what did hendrick e al do
reviewed 100s of studies
what did henrich et al report from reviwing 100s of studies
68% of pt came from USA
96% came from inustrialised antinos
what did arnett et al 2008 find from his research
80% of pt where undergrads tudying psych
what does findings by henrich and arnett make us question
how universal fidigns made by psych actualy are
researhc made us uestion universality of finigns made y psych are it lead to henrick coining the phrase
WEIRD
what is weird used to describe
those most likely to be studied by psychologists and in psychology studies
what does weird stand for
Western
Educated
Industrialised
Rich
Democractic
what does the whole idea of weird suggest
3 points
although psych routinely claim to discover facts about human behaviour
findings are based on a select group of individuals
so subjected to strong cultural bis cause WEIRD people usually in research
if teh norm ir standard of aprticuar behaviour is set by WEIRD people then how will behaviour od non westernised , less educated, agricutural and poorer culture going to be seen
abnoraml
inferior
unusual
how odo we remeber ethnocentrism
rhino painting a pic
but the pic is blocked by his nose
and he thinks its normal
what is ethnocentrisim
seeing the world only from one’s own cultural perspective
and believing that this one perspective is both normal and correct
in its extrme form what is ethnocentrism and what can this lead to
beleif in superiorit of ones own culture
discrimination and prejudice towards others
findings suggested by henrick and arnett suggest about US and EUROPE
guilty of presenting ethnocentric view of human behviour
what is an example of ethnicentric research
strange situation
explain how strange situation is an example fo ethnocentric research
was developed in america
many researchers assumed strange situation had teh same meaning for infants in other cultures
which is not alwyas the case as german kids show a higher rate of insecure aboidant behaviour as independence is encouraged in th german culture
what is cultural relativism
behaviours can only be properly understood if the cultural context is taken into consideration
how do we sum up cultural relativism
recognising culrural bias to help avoid it
give example of cultural relativism
sternberg arued meaning of intelligence is differnt in all cultlures
coordination and motor skills more valued in a prelitterate society but not valued in a literate or developed country
therfore intelligence should be judged in context of the culture
to understand intelligence we have to take x x into account or
cultural relativism into account
or we start to devalue other cultlures
e.g making inferences not true just based on belief
.g give an exmaple of devlauing other cultures based on beleief
saying a culture is inferior in terms of intelligence rather than appreciaitng their measur eof intelligence is diff to otehr cultures
evaluation points
how can we deal with it evaluation
one way to deal with cultural bias is to x it when it x
x and x found in thier xxx survey of x textbooks on x psychology that x% of studies were x, 32% x and only x% fromt eh rest of the world
this x that much psychological research is severley x and can be greatly improved by simply x differnt x groups to x
one way to deal with cultural bias is to recognise it when it ocurs
smith and bond found in thier 1998 survey of european textbooks on social psychology that 66% of studies were american 32% european and only 2% fromt eh rest of the world
this suggests that much psychological research is severley unrepresentative and can be greatly improved by simply selecting differnt cutural groups to study
significant real world effects
culturally biased research can have significant x world effects such as x and x damaging x
x army used an x test before xx1 which was culturally x towards the x x majority
x the test showed x x were at the x of the IQ scale and this had a x effect on the x of Americans x rhis group of x
which highlights the x impacts culturally x research can have
culturally biased research can have significant real world effects such as amplifiying and validating damaging stereotypes
US army used an IQ test before WW1 which was culturally biased towardss the dominant white majority
unsuprisingly the test showed African Americans were at the bottom of the IQ scale and this had a negative effect on the attitudes of Americans towards rhis group of people
which highlights the negative impacts culturally biased research can have
eval - heigihtened aware ness of cultuteal diveristy
x awareness of cultural x has led to the x of x x: theories drawing x on the particular x of people in differnt x contexts
one e.g is x - a movement which suggests taht becasue all x people have their roots in x theories about htem must x the x context of x and x
this matter becase its x to the x of theories that are more x to the lives and x of people not only in x but also those far x from thier x orgigins
the development of indigenous psychologies is often seen as a x of cultutra relativism,
but theeres x too becuase we can consider x theories to be as culturally x as those they claim to x
heightened awareness of cultural diversity has led to the devleopment of indigenous psychologies: theories drawing explicitly on the particular experiences of people in differnt cultural contexts
one e.g is afrocetrism - a movement which suggests taht becasue all black people have their roots in Africa theories about htem must recognise the african context of behaviours and attitudes
this matter becase its led to the emergence of theories that are more relevant to the lives and cultures o people not only in africa but also those far removed from thier african orgigins
the development of indigenous psychologies is often seen as a strenght of cultutra relativism,
but theeres limitaitons too becuase we can consider afocentric theories to be as culturally biased as those they claim to replace
