L2 - Cultural Bias in Psychology Flashcards
what % of psychology researchers were American i 1992?
In 1992, 64% of the world’s psychology researchers were american
What % of studies cited in BARON and BYRNE’s 1991 textbook on social psychology were conducted in north america?
94% of the studies cited in BARON and BYRNE’S 1991 textbook on social psychology were conducted in North America
what are the conclusions from this initial evidence?
it would appear that as well as being a male-dominated discipline, psychology is mainly the study of white American males
does psychological research actually have universality then?
despite having restricted their studies to particular parts of the world, researchers often claim to have discovered facts about human behaviour that are the same for all cultures (UNIVERSALITY) - critics argue that mainstream psychology has generally ignored culture as an important influence on human behaviour, and has assumed that findings found within Western populations can be applied all over the world.
This isn’t actually true, classic studies into obedience (MILGRAM) and conformity (ASCH) reveal very different results when they were replicated in other parts of the world.
whats cultural bias?
cultural bias is the tendency to judge people in terms of one’s own cultural assumptions. If the norm or standard for a particular behaviour is judged only from the standpoint of one particular culture then any cultural differences in behaviour will be seen as abnormal or even inferior.
how can researchers reduce cultural bias in their research?
in order to reduce cultural bias in their research, researchers should not attempt to extrapolate findings or theories to cultures that are not included in the research sample or assume that there are universal norms across different cultures.
They should use researchers who are native to the culture being investigated, carry out cross cultural research rather than research with a sole culture, and be sensitive to cultural norms when designing research.
what is ETHNOCENTRISM?
ETHNOCENTRISM is emphasising the importance of behaviour of one’s own culture. In psychological research this is communicated through a view that any behaviours that dont cofnform to the (usually western) model are somehow abnormal.
AINSWORTH’s STRANGE SITUATION is an example of this, it assumed that a securely attached child would show moderate distress (separation protest) when their caregiver left them and that if the child didnt they were insecurely attached. This means that german mothers were seen as cold and rejecting because their babies didnt show this mild distress, when it could be interpreted that German mothers are encouraging independence.
what is cultural relativism?
its been suggested that psychologists should be more mindful of cultural relativism - this is the idea that a behaviour can only be properly understood in the context of the norms and values of the culture in which it occurs
+ TOKANO AND OSAKA
historically psychologists have referred to INDIVIDUALISTIC and COLLECTIVIST cultures within their research - individualistic cultures are mostly western cultures and tend to value freedom and independence, collectivist cultures tend to place more emphasis on the needs of the group.
Critics have argued that such a simplistic distinction is unhelpful and inaccurate, TOKANO and OSAKA found that 14 of 15 studies which compared the US and JAPAN had found no evidence of the traiditional distinction between individualistic cultures and collectivist cultures
+ COCHRANE and SASHIDHARAN
COCHRANE AND SASHIDHARAN found that african-caribbean immigrants are 7x more likely to be diagnosed with mental illness. This has led many to question the validity of the Diagnostic statistical manual (DSM) and International classification of diseases (ICD) for diagnosing individuals who are born outside of the culture that they were developed in
+ BRAIN FAG
Another reason why cultural bias is an issue comes from the presence of mental ilnesses in some cultures that dont exist in others. E.g the term BRAIN FAG is used in WEST AFRICA to describe a person struggling to concentrate and think; in CHINA a man who believes his penis is retracting into his body is diagnosed with KORO.
- SOME HUMAN BEHAVIOURS ARE UNIVERSAL
theres evidence that some human behaviours are universal - e.g the basic facia expressions for emotions such as happiness and disgust are the same in all cultures and even in the animal kingdom.
Also interactional synchrony between an infant and their caregiver has been observed in many cultures hence cultural bias may not be that large of an issue
- CROSS CULTURAL RESEARCH
cross cultural research is one way to PREVENT CULTURAL BIAS IN PSYCHOLOGY - this shows that knowledge and concepts that we take for granted are not shared by other people around the world. This not only counters the charge of scientific racism that has been made against some psychological theories of past, it means that conclusions that psychologists draw are likely to have more validity.
