Cultural Bias

• Psychologists seek universality but bias may be inevitable.

  Although psychology may claim to have unearthed truths about people all over the world, in reality findings from studies only apply to the particular groups of people who were studies (i.e. they show cultural bias).
• Universality

  The quality of involving or being shared by all people or things in the world or in a particular group.
• Universality is assumed for results of Western research

  For example, studies of conformity and obedience revealed very different results when they were replicated in parts of the world outside the US. 

  If the norm or standard for a particular behaviour is judged only from the standpoint of one particular culture, then any cultural differences in behaviour will inevitably be seen as abnormal, inferior, or unusual (cultural bias).
• Ethnocentrism results in a view that other behaviours are deficient


  Ethnocentrism is the belief in the superiority of one’s own cultural group. In psychological research this may be communicated through a view that any behaviour that does not conform to the (usually Western) model is somehow deficient or underdeveloped. 
• One example of ethnocentric research is the Strange Situation.


  Ainsworth has been criticised as reflecting only the norms and values of American culture in research. 

  She said the defining variable of attachment type was the child’s experience of anxiety on separation, and suggested the ideal attachment was the infant showing distress when left alone.

  This led to misinterpretation of parenting practices in other countries, which deviated from the American norm.

  This Strange Situation was revealed as an inappropriate measure of attachment type for non-US children.
• Respecting cultural relativism helps to avoid cultural bias. 


  The facts and things that psychologists discover may only make sense from the perspective of the culture within which they were discovered. 

  Being able to recognise this is one way of avoiding cultural bias in research.
• One limitation of attempting to mitigate cultural bias in research is that cross-cultural research is prone to demand characteristics.


  When conducting research in western culture the participants’ familiarity with the general aims and objectives are assumed. In cultures without historical experience of research, local populations may be more affected by demand characteristics than Western participants. This is a particular form of cultural bias where unfamiliarity with the research tradition threatens the validity of the outcome.
• A further limitation is difficulties with the interpretations of variables. (cultural bias)

   Another issue with conducting research in different cultures is that the variables under review may not be experienced in the same way by all participants. Emotions may give rise to different behaviours within in Indigenous population compared to the West (e.g. different reactions to invasion of personal space). Issues like these may affect interaction between the researcher and participants in cross-cultural studies and this can reduce the validity of the findings.
• A strength, however, is that cross-cultural research challenges Western assumptions.


  One of the great benefits of conducting cross-cultural research is that it may challenge our typically western ways of thinking and viewing the world. UNderstanding that the knowledge  and concepts we take for granted are not shared by others may promote greater sensitivity to individual differences and cultural relativism. This means the conclusions psychologists draw are likely to have more validity if they recognize the role of culture in bringing them about.