issues and debates: culture bias ao3

Question 1

strength - recognition of universal beh

Answer 1

P: one strength is the recognition of both cultural relativism and universals
E: the imposed etic shows the culturally specific nature of psychology, but we shouldnt assume all psychology is culturally relative and that theres no such thing as universal human behaviour
E: paul ekman suggests basic facial expressions are the same all over the human and animal world. some features of attachment eg interactional synchrony and imitation are universal
L: a full understanding of human beh requires the study of both universals and variation among individuals and groups

Question 2

limitation - prone to demand characteristics

Answer 2

P: one limitation is that cross cultral research is prone to demand characteristics
E: when conducting research in western culture the ppts familiarity with the general aims and objectives of scientific enquiry is assumed
E: in cultures without historical experience of research local populations may be more affected by demand characteristics than western ppts
L: this is a particular form of cultural bias where unfamiliarity with the research tradition threatens the validity of the outcome

Question 3

strength - cross cultrual research challenges western assumptions

Answer 3

P: a strength is cross cultral research challenges western assumptions
E: one of the great benefits of conducting cross cultural research is that it may challenge our typically western ways of thinking
E: understanding that the knowledge and concepts we take for granted are not shared by others may promote greater sensitivity to individual differences and cultural relativism
L; this means that the conclusions psychologists draw are likely to have more validity if they recognise the role of culture in bringing them about

Question 4

limitation - distinction between individualism and collectivism

Answer 4

P: one limitation is the distinction between individualism and collectivism
E: psychologits have often reffered to culture in the context of indivdiualsim ( the US valuing independence) vs collectivism (india which value group success and interdependence)
E: critics argue this is a simplistic and lazy distinction that no longer applies. takano and osaka 1999 found 14/15 studies comparing japan found no evidence of a distinction between the 2 types of culture
L: this could suggest that this form of culture bias (seeing the world as individualsit vs collectivist) is less of an issue than it once was