Culture In Psycology

Question 1

Universality

Answer 1

When a theory is applied to all people, irrespective of their culture

Question 2

Culture bias

Answer 2

The tenancy to judge all peoples in terms of ones own cultural assumptions

Question 3

Ethnocentrism

Answer 3

The sue of ones own ethnic or cultural group as a bias for judgements about other groups and believing that the beliefs, customs and behaviours of ones own group are considered normal and superior compared to those of other cultural groups

Question 4

Cultural relativism

Answer 4

The assumption that behaviour can only be understood properly, if its viewed in the context of the culture in which it originates

Question 5

Overcome culture bias

Answer 5

development of different groups of theories in different countries
- eg Afrocentrism is a movement which suggests that theories about black People must recognise the African context of behaviours and attitudes
- rejects the idea that European values are universally appropriate to describe human behaviour of non Europeans
- European values and culture are irrelevant to the life and people of African descent

Attend international conferences to exchange ideas between psychologists and collaborate with researchers cross different cultures
- helps reduce ethnocentrism
- Bette understanding of cultural relativism ( real differences between cultures are identified and valued)

Question 6

Weaknesses of cultural bias

Answer 6

based on American white middle call academic male adults
- eg smith and bond found 66% of all studies in social psychology where American 32% European and 2% from rest of the world
- majority of psychological research is in represntie and culturally biased
- need to study ptps from different cultural backgrounds

Has significant real-word effect by validating and amplifying stereotypes
- damaging for members of cultural groups
- Eg before ww1 the us army used IQ tests which was culturally biased towards white ppl, result = white Americans scored higher than European immigrants and African Americans bottom of IQ scale
- negative attitude towards African Americans
- strengthen stereotypes of African Americans and their IQ