culture bias

• How is culture defined?

  Values, beliefs, and shared behaviors
• What factors shape culture?

  Various factors reflected in cultural differences
• Who has historically dominated psychology?

  White, middle-class American males
• What is cultural bias?

  The tendency to judge by one's own culture
• What are the two forms of cultural bias in psychology?

  Alpha bias and beta bias
• What is alpha bias?

  Theory assumes cultural groups are different
• What is beta bias?

  Real cultural differences are ignored or minimized
• How can culturally biased research affect society?

  It can amplify and validate damaging stereotypes
• What example illustrates cultural bias in IQ testing?

  The US Army's IQ test before WWI
• What was the outcome of the US Army's IQ test?

  African-Americans scored at the bottom
• What did Smith and Bond's 1998 survey reveal?

  66% of studies were American
• How can psychological research be improved?

  By selecting different cultural groups to study
• How have contemporary psychologists changed?

  They are more open-minded and well-travelled
• What is the purpose of international psychology conferences?

  To increase the exchange of ideas
• What are 'indigenous psychologies'?

  Theories based on specific cultural experiences
• What does Afrocentrism emphasize?

  The African context of behaviors and attitudes
• What is an emic approach?

  Focuses on the uniqueness of each culture
• What is a strength of cultural relativism?

  Emergence of relevant theories for diverse cultures
• What limitation exists in indigenous psychologies?

  They may be as culturally biased as predecessors
• How did DSM-IV improve cultural diagnosis?

  Included an appendix on culture-bound syndromes
• What criticism did Kleinman and Cohen have of DSM-IV?

  It provided inadequate attention to non-Western disorders
• What is an example of a culture-bound syndrome?

  Pa-fend found in China
• What is amafufunyana?

  Violent behavior caused by spirit possession
• What is brain fag?

  Problems concentrating from excessive study