Culture Bias Flashcards
Culture Bias
Def: The tendency to ignore cultural differences & interpret all phenomena through the lens of one’s own culture.
Research conducted in one culture & findings generalised & applied to other cultures. It’s seen when designing research, process of obtaining data can lead to C bias.
WEIRD People
Henrich et al. named the group of ppl most likely to be studied by psychs WEIRD - Westernised, Educated ppl from Industrialised, Rich Democracies.
IF they set the standard for certain behaviour - then behaviour of ppl from non-Western, less educated, agricultural & poorer cultures are seen as ‘abnormal’ or ‘inferior’.
Ethnocentrism
Refers to the use of own ethnic/cultural groups as basis for judgements about other groups. View own beliefs as ‘normal’ & even superior, whereas others are seen as ‘strange’ or deviant.
Alpha & Beta Bias
Ethnocentrism can lead to:
A Bias - when one’s culture is considered different & better –> other cultures & practices are devalued.
B Bias - If psychs were to believe their world view is the only view. (Western IQ testing)
Ethnocentrism example
Ainsworth’s Strange Situation:
–> Research on attachment reflected norms of US culture
–> Led to misinterpretation of child-rearing practices in other countries.
–> Viewed German & Japanese babies’ attachment as abnormal due to differences in behaviour.
Cultural Relativism
Helps Avoid Cultural Bias:
Idea that things observed in research may only make sense from the perspective of the culture being observed - cannot be applied to others.
ETIC & EMIC
Berry argues that:
Etic - looks at behaviours from the outside of a given culture & attempts to describe behaviours that are universal.
Emic - looks within cultures & identified behaviours that are specific to that culture.
Ainsworth’s Strange Situation illustrated imposed etic –> studied behaviours inside a single culture & assumed their findings could be applied universally.
Advantage of Increasing C Bias Awareness
Identifying issues of C bias increases our understanding of the impact of culture.
Decrease C Bias
1) Hold conferences where researchers from diff countries & culture regularly meet to discuss so they can identify C bias when exchanging ideas.
2) Being able to recognise cultural relativism.
Limitation - Classic Studies
1) Many classic studies are culturally-biased:
–> Asch’s & Milgram’s used white middle class US pps - replications of studies in different countries produced different results.
–> E.g. Asch’s replications in collectivist cultures found higher rates of conformity than in og study (US - individualist).
–> Suggests our understanding of topics such as social influence should only be applied to individualist cultures.
Limitation - Ethnic Stereotyping
2) Ethnic Stereotyping:
–> Army recruits had IQ tested - test items were ethnocentric
–> Showed white Americans were at the top and Afro-Americans were bottom
–> could mislead to think one is less ‘intelligent’
–> can reinforce pre-existing discrimination, this could be used to prevent them from being assigned certain jobs.
Strength - Cultural Psych
1) Emergence of Cultural Psychology:
–> Cultural psychology is study of how ppl shape & are shaped by their cultural experience - emic approach.
–> Research is conducted from inside a culture often alongside local researchers.
–> Suggest modern psychologists are mindful of dangers of cultural bias & are taking steps to avoid it.
