Issues And Debates: Culture In Psychology Flashcards
What is culture bias?
The tendency to judge all cultures and individuals in terms of your own cultural assumptions. This distorts and biases your judgements.
What are Emics?
The constructs particular to a specific culture (differences). Emphasise on the uniqueness in every culture. E.g. the distinction made between individualistic and collectivist cultures (e.g. the US and Japan) -Alpha Bias
What are Etics?
Constructs that are universal to all people (similarities), assuming all people are the same. Uses the same theories/methods with all cultural groups -Beta Bias
What is cultural relativism?
The view that behaviour, morals, standards and values cannot be judged properly unless they are viewed in the context of the culture in which they originate.
What’s an example of cultural relativism?
Milgrams study into obedience was originally conducted in America using American ptps, but then also replicated using Spanish students and Australian students.
What is Alpha bias for cross-cultural research?
There are real and enduring differences between culture groups.
Example: we would expect members of individualist cultures to be less conformist as they are less orientated towards group norms. Takano and Osaka (1999) reviewed 15 studies that compared the US with Japan. 14 out of 15 didn’t support this view about differences in conformity. - suggests individualism/collectivism dimensions may not be a real distinction.
What is Beta Bias for cross cultural research?
Constructs are assumed to be universal, but may not be.
Example: intelligence testing (IQ tests) devised by Western psychologists to study intelligence in many different cultures- assuming it applies to everyone equally. Although intelligence is different in all cultures, and when IQ tests are used on non-western cultures, they appear less intelligent- which isn’t fair.
What is Ethnocentrism?
A belief that the ethnic group with which the individual (e.g. researcher) identifies is superior to other groups. Use their own ethnic group to evaluate and make judgments about other individuals from other groups.
Research centred around one culture group is called ‘ethnocentric’
An example of Alpha bias, but can lead to beta bias if psychologists believe their world view is the only world view.
What are some examples of culturally biased research?
- Ainsworth’s Strange Situation for attachment- not appropriate for assessing children anywhere outside of the US as there are many cultural differences in child-rearing.
- IQ tests and Eysencks
