Issues & Debates - Cultural Bias Flashcards
What is cultural bias?
A tendency for someone to interpret all phenomena through the lens of their own culture & ignoring the effects of cultural differences on behaviour
What is ethnocentrism?
Judging other cultures from the standards & values of their own culture
Extreme -> belief in the superiority of their own culture (may lead to prejudice & discrimination)
What is cultural relativism?
The idea that norms, values, ethics & moral standards can only be meaningful & understood within specific social & cultural contexts
How is universality affected by cultural bias?
Henrich et al -> reviewed 100s studies in journals & found 68% of participants were from the US & 96% from industrialised nations -> another review found 80% of participants were psychology undergrads -> suggests what we know about behaviour has strong cultural bias
WEIRD people most likley to be studied by psychologists: -> if norm & standard set by them, behaviour otherwise is ‘abnormal’
Westernised
Educated people from
Industrialised
Rich
Democracies
What is a study that is ethnocentric?
The Strange Situation -> reflects the norms & values of western culture
- did research on attachment styles in infants -> ‘ideal’ was secure attachment
- led to misinterpretation of rearing practices in other countries -> e.g. Japanese infants more likely to be considered insecurely attached (rarely separated from the mother)
What is an etic approach, proposed by Berry?
Etic -> looks at behaviour from outside the given culture & describes those behaviour as universal
What is an emic approach, proposed by Berry?
Emic -> looks at behaviour within a culture & identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture
What research study is an example of imposed etic?
Ainsworth -> Strange Situation
- studied behaviour outside one culture & assumed that cultures ideal attachment type & methods could be applied universally
What else does Berry say about cultural relativism?
Argues psychology has been guilty of imposed etic approach -> argues theories, models etc. are universal, when they came through emic research in one culture -> suggests psychologists should be more mindful of cultural relativism in their research & what they discover only makes sense in that specific culture (one way to avoid cultural bias)
What is an individualist culture?
Cultures e.g. the US who favour & value personal freedom & independence
What is a collectivist culture?
Cultures e.g. India & China that place more value on interdependence & group needs
EVALUATION: How does individualism & collectivism have an effect on cultural bias?
When psychologists reference culture, they do it in the context of the individualist-collectivist distinction, however critics say due to globalisation, this distinction between the cultures no longer applies. Takano & Osaka found 14/15 studies comparing USA & Japan found no evidence of distinction between the cultures, suggesting cultural bias in research is less of an issue than it once was
EVALUATION: How does cultural relativism vs. universality effect cultural bias?
Berry’s concept of imposed etic is a reminder to psychologists of the specific nature of their work, however it shouldn’t be assumed that all psychology is culturally relative & there isn’t such a thing as human behaviour. research suggests basic facial expressions for emotions are the same all over the world & + critiques of the strange situation shouldn’t ignore that some behaviours in human attachment e.g. interactional synchrony are universal. To have a full understanding of human behaviour requires the study of universal & variations among individuals & groups
EVALUATION: How does unfamiliarity with research tradition effect cultural bias?
When conducting research in western culture, participants familiarity of the aims & objectives is assumed, however this may not extend to other cultures who don’t have the same history with research. This means, demands characteristics may be exaggerated when working with members of the local population which can effect the validity of the research
EVALUATION: How does the operationalisation of variables effect cultural bias?
The variables may not be experienced in the same way by all participants. E.g. emotions -> aggression may give a different response from people in different cultures. Issues like these may affect interactions between the researcher & participant in these cross cultural studies.
