Issues and Debates - Cultural Bias Flashcards
Cultural bias definition
Judging people in terms of your own cultural assumptions, ignoring other cultures
Cultural bias example (attachment)
Strange Situation by Ainsworth only used American children and their mothers. Strange Situation most common in America meaning it can’t be applied to other cultures (E.g. Japanese mothers very unlikely to leave their children)
Universality
Believing that some behaviours are the same for all cultures
Ethnocentrism
Seeing the world from your own cultural perspective, emphasising the behaviour of your culture as the norm
What can ethnocentrism lead to?
Racist stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination
Ethnocentrism example (attachment)
The Strange Situation didn’t take into account cultural differences
Cultural relativism
Behaviour can only be understood if the cultural context is taken into consideration
What test was developed to demonstrate the ethnocentrism of IQ tests in America in 1968?
The Chitling Test
Chitling Test significance
Ethnocentric IQ tests were given to white and African American people in America to see who can join the way
Results inevitably showed that whites had higher IQ
The Chitling Test was an ethnocentric test in favour of the African American people
African American people would achieve higher grades, which showed that ethnocentric tests should no longer be used
What approach is taken in order to reduce cultural bias?
An emic approach
What is an emic approach?
Studying single cultures based on their individual norms in order to understand the behaviour of that culture only
How can explanations for relationships include cultural bias?
Many explanations are western where relationships are more free. Divorce is accepted in western societies but it isn’t recognised in most non-western societies
