Culture Bias Flashcards
(3 cards)
Consequences of cultural bias
An issue with culturally biased research is that it can result in the formation of damaging stereotypes. For example, before the Second World War, the US Army used a culturally biased IQ test which showed that African Americans were at the bottom of the scale with the lowest mental age. The data from these tests had a negative effect on the attitudes held by Americans towards certain groups of people – black people and people from south-eastern Europe. This led to enduring stereotypes concerning certain ethnic groups and their IQ (Gould, 1981). This research is
one example of the negative impact that culturally biased research can have.
Counter ethnocentrism with Indigenous psychologies
One way to counter ethnocentrism in psychology is to encourage ‘indigenous psychologies’. This is the development of different groups of theories in different countries. For example, Afrocentrism believes that psychological theories of African people should be developed
in Africa and express African values. It disputes the view that European values and descriptions of human behaviour are universally appropriate descriptions of human behaviour that apply to people of African descent. It suggests that the European values and culture are irrelevant to the life and culture of people of African descent. So, developing different groups of theories in different countries is one way in which psychologists can deal with the problem of ethnocentrism.
Reduction of cultural bias over time
One strength of psychological research today is that today researchers are more culturally aware. Often in the past, when psychologists have made reference to ‘culture’ they have done so within the context of the individualist-
collectivist distinction. However, in 1999, Takano & Osaka found that 14 out of 15 studies that compared the USA and Japan found no evidence of the traditional distinction between individualism and collectivism. Researchers in psychology travel much more now than they did 50 years ago. This means they have an increased understanding of other
cultures, not only at a personal level, but also at a professional level. Academics regularly meet to discuss and exchange ideas, so there is a much greater exchange of ideas, which should reduce ethnocentrism in psychology, enabling an understanding of cultural relativism so that real differences are identified and valued. This perhaps suggests that cultural bias in research is less of an issue than it once was.
