methods - cross cultural

Question 1

what is cross cultural research?

Answer 1

Involves taking samples from different cultural groups to draw comparisons about the similarities and differences between them to consider how culture may impact on the behaviour in question

Question 2

cross cultural research cont

implications on nature and nurture

Answer 2

If a behaviour is found in all cultures it can be called ‘universal’ and can mean that it has a genetic cause

If a behaviour is different between cultures then it would seem it is not caused by genes, but learned from the environment

Question 3

example of cross cultural studies

Answer 3

luhrmann

Question 4

aim of luhrmann’s study

Answer 4

To look at the experience of auditory hallucinations (hearing voices) in three different cultures (USA, India and Ghana).

Question 5

describe the particpants in luhrmann’s study

Answer 5

Interviewed 60 american, Indian and Ghanaian pps with SZ

Question 6

describe luhrmann’s results

Answer 6

70% of the American people said their voices told them to hurt people, whereas 50% of Ghanaians were mainly positive. Some said they had bad voices as well but the good voices were more powerful.

Only 20% of Ghanaian pps said their voices told them to kill or fight.

Indian pps tended to hear family members offering guidance and/or scalding them whereas only 10% of the american people said the voices belonged to family members.

Question 7

describe luhrmann’s conclusion

Answer 7

Differences in experiences demonstrates culture impacts the way hearing voices is interpreted and has interesting implications for explanations of SZ - suggests the symptoms of SZ are universal, therefore the bio explanation is supported as symptoms are similar across cultures, however the experiences of the symptoms is heavily influenced by culture

Question 8

what are the strengths of using cross cultural studies?

Answer 8

Reliable as procedures are standardised and controlled so that they can be replicated in different cultures

High validity as if the procedure is replicable then the only variable which is changing is the culture (IV - USA, Ghana and India), therefore accurate cause and effect conclusions about the extent to which nature and nurtrure play a role in people’s experiences of SZ can be made

Question 9

what are the weaknesses of using cross cultural studies?

Answer 9

A weakness is that it may be culturally bias, using a standardised procedure which has beend eveloped in one culture may be biased towards that culture (ethnocentric) and may lose consistency if translated

Another weakness is that it lacks generlisability, the ppts used in a cross-cultural study won’t necessarily represent the culture accurately (pop validity), therefore the results may not be generalisable to the whole culture