🔴 Issues and debates: Culture bias Flashcards
What is culture bias
tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret everything from own culture perspective
- 1992: 64% psychology researcher were American
How does cultural bias affect the universality of findings
psychology claims to find universal truths, but findings only apply to studied culture
- assumes Western culture applies to the world
What is universality
Anything that can be applied to all
- psychologists beliefs cause bias
- bias threatens universality
What is ethnocentrism
- judging a culture by the standards of another
- believing own culture is superior=discrimination of other cultures
What is an example of ethnocentrism in psychology
- behaviour not ‘typical’ in Western culture=unsophisticated e.g Ainsworth’s Strange Situation
- only reflected Western norms/values (separation anxiety)
- German parenting seen as cold than encouraging independence
What is cultural relativism
- idea that norms/values (including ethics/moral standards) only understood in specific social/cultural contexts
How does Ainsworth’s resarch show cultural relativism
imposed etic: imposed her own cultural understanding onto other countries
According to Berry, what is emic and etic
Emic: identifying behaviours in a culture specific to that culture
Etic: looks at behaviour outside a culture and describes these behaviours as universal
- psychology uses etic approach when research is emic
What are the evaluation points for cultural bias?
- individualism and collectivism
- cultural relativism versus universality
- unfamiliarity with research tradition
- operationalisation of variables
- challenging ‘implicit’ assumptions
What is the ‘individualism and collectivism’ evaluation point of cultural bias
Individualist: Western;value independence
Collectivist: China;needs of the group
- global communication=no longer distinction
Takano/Osaka: 1415 studies of USvsJPN=no evidence of distinction
- cultural bias less of an issue than the past
What is the ‘cultural relativism versus universality’ evaluation point of cultural bias
- shouldn’t assume all research culturally relative/no human behaviour is universal
Ekman: basic emotional facial expressions same across humans/animals
What is the ‘unfamiliarity with research tradition’ evaluation point of cultural bias?
- knowledge/faith in scientific research not extended to other cultures
- demand characteristics exaggerated when working with local population=adverse effect on validity
What is the ‘operationalisation of variables’ evaluation point of cultural bias?
- variables not experienced same by all
- emotional behavioural expression different across cultures
- invasion of personal space normal in China not West
What is the ‘challenging implicit assumptions’ evaluation point of cultural bias?
- cross-cultural research challenge Western ways of thinking
- promotes sensitivity to individual difference
- conclusions more valid if they recognise culture influence
What is imposed etic