A01 Cultural Bias: Gender & Culture in Psychology

• Cultural Bias Summary:

  Cultural differences VS Cultural bias

  Americans & Students

  WEIRD

  Universality & Bias

  Ethnocentrism

  Cultural Relativism

  ETIC

  EMIC
• Cultural Differences VS Cultural Bias:

  • Expect to observe basic cultural differences in behaviour from society to society, as different norms and values influence the way people think and behave.

  The argument however, is that psychological research can ignore or misinterpret differences between cultures and impose and understanding based on the study of one culture alone to other cultures.
• Americans and students over-represented in research

  In 1992, 64% of the 56,000 psychologists were American.

  94% of published studies are estimated to be conducted in North America

  • Henrich et al 2010: A review find: 68% of research ppt came from US & 96% from industrialised nations.
  • Another review found that 80% of research ppt were undergraduates studying psychology (Arnett 2008)

  Americans and students over-represented in research
• WERID people set standard (TB)

  What we known about human behaviour has a strong cultural bias.

  Henrich et al coined the term WEIRD to describe the group of people most likely to be studies by psychologists - Westernised, Educate people from Industrialised, Rich Democracies.

  • If the norm or standard for a particular behaviour is set by WERID people, then the behaviour of people from non-Western, less educated, agricultural and poorer cultures are inevitably seen as 'abnormal', 'inferior' or 'unusual'
• Universality & Bias

  • Mainstream psychology generally ignored culture as an important influence on human behaviour & by doing so has mistakenly assumed findings carried out in western culture can be straightforwardly applied all over the world.

  EXAMPLE: 'ELECTRIC SHOCK STUDY':

  Milgram (1963):

  • In USA 65% of participants delivered fatal electric shocks of 450 tons 4 times

  Kilham & Mann (1974)

  • In Australia 28% of participants delivered fatal electric shocks of 450 volts 4 times

  Mantell

  • In Germany 85% of participants delivered fatal electric shocks of 450 volts 4 times
• Ethnocentrism:

  Superiority of own culture - A form of cultural bias

  • Belief that ones own culture is superior and that any behaviours which do not conform to your (usually western) culture must be deficient or unsophisticated.

  In psychology research this may be communicated through a view that any behaviour that does not conform to a European/American standard is somehow deficient or underdeveloped.
• Ethnocentrism Example:

  The Strange Situation led misunderstanding of child rearing practices in other countries as they deviate from American norm.

  Ainsworth & Bell's (1970) research on attachment type reflected norms of US culture

  • Suggested ideal (secure) attachment defined as baby showing moderate distress when left alone by the mother figure.
  • This led to misinterpretation of child-rearing practices in other countries which deviated from US norm e.g. Japanese babies rarely left on own, more likely be classed as insecurely attached as they show distress on separation (Takahashi 1986)
• Cultural Relativism:

  Theory that beliefs customs and morality exist in relation to the particular culture from which they originate and are not absolute. The 'facts' 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 - Cultural Relativism helps to avoid cultural bias
  • Good thing (want this)
• Universality versus cultural relativism:

  Berry (1969) argues that:

  • An ETIC Approach
  • An EMIC Approach
• The ETIC Approach

  An ETIC approach looks at behaviour from outside a given culture and identifies behaviours that are universal. (OUTSIDE)

  • Where behaviours are examined across different cultures and interpreted by researchers outside the culture.

  Imposed Etic = Ainsworth and Bell's research illustrates an imposed etic - they studied behaviours inside a single culture (American) in the SSC and then assumed their ideal attachment type could be applied universally. Ainsworth's study of Ugandan mothers was also Etic.
• The EMIC Approach

  EMIC Approach functions from inside a culture and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture. (WITHIN)

  • Where behaviours are examined and interpreted by researchers within that culture.

  Ainsworth's development of Strange Situation was EMIC as it was designed in the US