Methods and Bias Flashcards
Types of studies
- Exploratory studies
- Hypothesis-testing
Exploratory studies
Examines the existence of cross-cultureak similarities or differences
- strength: broad scope for identifying similarities and differences
- weakness: limited capability to solve the causes of differences
Hypothesis-testing studies
Examines why cultural differences exist
- inferences promote cross-cultural biases and inequivalence
What are we looking for with studies?
- structure-oriented studies
Structure-oriented studies
Comparison of a culture’s constructs structures, or relationships amoing constructs with those of another culture
At what level are we doing research?
- individual level studies
- ecological (cultural) studies
- multilevel studies
Individual level studies
Individual participants provide data and are the unit of analysis
Ecological (cultural) studies
Countries or cultures are the units of analysis
- Hofstede
Multilevel studies
Involve data collection at multiple levels of analysis
Distinguising levels is improtant
Because of isomorphism (the realtionship of the variable is the same across levels)
- but this is not a given: relations between variables may not be the same at different levels
The Simpsons paradox
The relation between two factors on an individual level can be negative while the relation an the national level is positive. So the effect of the relation differs across different levels
- obese and health individually is bad, but national means more wealth and healthcare
Challanges when designing studies
Are the differences actually cultural –> validity of theoretical models
- Linkage studies
Linkage studies
- Unpackaging studies
- experiments
Unpackaging studies
Unpackaging studies seperate the contents of the global, unspecific concept of culture into specific, measurable psychological constructs and examine their contribution to cultural differences
- lots of contextual information is important
Poortinga on culture
Culture as a placeholder for what we do not understand yet
–> Culture is like peeling an onion: peeling away layer by layer
Experiments (linkage studies)
Priming studies and behavioral studies
Priming studies
Involve experimentally manipulating the mindsets of participants and measuring resulting chamges in behavior
Behavioral studies
Involve manipulations of environments and observation of changes in behavior
The ecological fallacy
Inferences on individuals based on aggregated country-level data
–> make a statement about an individual based on the mean of the country
(Differences within groups can be bigger than differences between groups)
Bias
Differences that do not have the sam meaning within and across cultures
- if bias exists in cross-cultural comparative study, the comparison loses its meaning
Equivalence
State or condition of similarity in conceptual meaning and empirical method between cultures
- allows comparisons to be meaningful
–> what is the level of comparability
Measurement bias
Are the specific measures, tests, or instruments used to collect data in different cultures equallu valid and reliable across those cultures?
Construct bias
Are psychological constructs defined in the same way across cultures>
Linguistic bias
re the research protocols semantically equivalent across the languages used in the study?