Cultural Bias

Question 1

Universality

Answer 1

The quality of involving or being shared by all people or things in the world or in a particular group

Question 2

Culture

Answer 2

The ideas, customs and social behaviour of particular members of society

Question 3

Cultural Bias

Answer 3

The tendency to judge people in terms of one’s own cultural assumption

Question 4

Ethnocentrism

Answer 4

Only seeing the world from one’s own cultural perspective and believing that one’s perspective is both normal and correct

Question 5

Cultural relativism

Answer 5

Insists that behaviour can be properly understood only if the cultural context is taken into consideration

Question 6

Etic

Answer 6

Relating an approach to the study or description of a particular culture that is general, non-structural and objective in its perspective

Question 7

Emic

Answer 7

An approach to studying a culture from inside the culture, focusing on the internal elements

Question 8

Alpha Bias

Answer 8

Occurs when a theory assures that cultural groups are profoundly different

Question 9

Beta Bias

Answer 9

Occurs when real cultural differences are ignored or minimised and all people are assumed to be the same- resulting in universal research designs and conclusions

Question 10

Ethnocentric example

Answer 10

• Ainsworths strange situation (1970s). Developed to assess attachment types and researchers assumes that the SS has the same meaning for infants of other cultures

Question 11

How does aus worth’s theory show ethnocentrism

Answer 11

Only used white- middle class mothers and children
German children showed higher rates of insecure, avoidant attachment, as German mothers value independence, and encourage it. Therefore, the children reacted differently. Shows ethnocentrism as it doesn’t apply to other cultures.

Question 12

How did takashi contradict Ainsworth

Answer 12

Takashi (1990) prove child differences therefore Ainsworths results led to interpretation. No children in avoidance and insecure stage, Japanese children were taught that such behaviour is impolite and therefore experience more distress in SS

Question 13

How does intelligence relate to ethnocentrism

Answer 13

Intelligence is subjective/differs in every culture. Steinburg 1985, pointed out that coordination skills that may be essential to life in a pre-literate society, may mostly be irrelevant and illiterate more developed society. Therefore, the only way we can understand, intelligence is to take the cultural context into account

Question 14

How did milgram, as h and zimb show ethnocentrism

Answer 14

All assumed the findings apply to other cultures within affect obedience/conformity rates differ in collectivist/individualist cultures. Eg kilham (1974 aus)- different level of obedience in women

Question 15

Why is cultural bias an issue

Answer 15

• psych overlooks the importance of cultural diversity in understanding human behaviour
• inaccurate theories that are intentionally/ unintentionally racist and discriminatory
• leads to emposed etics- theories from specific cultures are incorrectly applied to others

Question 16

Consequences of cultural bias

Answer 16

Nobles (1976) argues that western psych has been a tool in oppression and dominance

Question 17

Examples of ethic

Answer 17

IQ tests biased towards white majority,
Isn’t valid due to assumptions made about intelligence

Question 18

Example emic

Answer 18

Afrocentrism- movement that recognises African context of behaviours and attitudes, empathisers uniqueness in every culture