A03 Cultural Bias: Gender & Culture in Psychology

• Evaluation


  s
• Individualism vs collectivism: CB A03

  Traditionally, cultural research distinguish between C & I

  • Individualistic cultures (America) value personal freedom & independence. Collectivist (India/China) emphasises interdependence & needs of group
  • Critics say coz increasing globalisation & global media, simplistic distinction between cultures no longer applies. Takano & Osaka (1999) found 14/15 studies comparing US & Japan found no evidence of traditional differences.

  Suggest culture bias, less of issue in recent psy research than it once was as behaviours slowly drifting towards universal norms.
• Cultural Relativism Vs Universality: A03

  Shouldn't assume all psy is culturally relative & that there no such thing as universal human behaviour

  E.G, Ekman (1989) suggest basic facial expressions for emotions (like happiness/disgust)same all over human & animal world, some behaviours universal.

  Critiques of Ainsworth’s SS shouldn't obscure fact some features of human attachment, like imitation & interactional synchrony, are universal.

  Suggests, a comprehensive understanding of human behaviour would require study of both universals & variation among individuals/groups.
• Operationalisation: CB A03

  P: One issue with conducting research in different cultures is the variables may not be operationalised the same way in all cultures

  E: For instance, the expression of emotions such as ‘aggression’ will be viewed more negatively within an indigenous population than they would in the West. 

  E: In China, the invasion of personal space is seen as normal whereas in the West this may be seen as threatening or confrontational 

  L: Issues like this may affect interactions between the researcher and pps or between western and non-western pps in cross-cultural studies.
• Challenging Assumptions: CB A03

  P: Benefits of conducting cross-cultural research: may challenge our typically western way of thinking & viewing the world

  Seeing certain concepts we take for granted not shared by other people would promote a greater sensitivity to individual differences & cultural relativism in future. 

  This counters charge of ‘scientific racism’ that has been made against some theories in past (e.g. debate about IQ & race)

  L: Also means the conclusions psychologists draw, likely to have more validity if they include recognition of role of culture in bringing them about.
• Limitation is many classic studies are culturally biased (TB): A03 CB

  Both Asch's and Milgram's original studies were conducted with white middle-class US participants. Replications of these studies in different countries produced rather different results.

  • Ach-type experiments in collectivist cultures found significantly higher rates of conformity than the original studies in the US, an individualist culture (e.g Smith and Bond 1993)

  This suggests our understanding of topics like social influence should only be applied to individualist cultures.

  • Counterpoint I vs C
• Limitation is ethnic sterotyping (TB): A03 CB

  Gould (1981) explained how the first intelligence test led to eugenic social pilcies in America. During EE1 psychologists gae IQ tests to 1.75 million army recruits.

  • Many tests were ethnocentric (e.g name US presidents) so recruits from south-eastern Europe and African-Americans scored lowest and were deemed genetically inferior.

  This illustrates how cultural bias can be used to justify prejudice and discrimination towards ethnic and cultural groups.
• Strength is the emergence of cultural psychology (TB): A03 CB

  Cultural psychology is the study of how people shape and are shaped by their cultural experience (Cohen 2017). It is an emerging field that takes an EMIC approach.

  • Research is conducted from inside a culture, often alongside local researchers using culturally-based techniques. Fewer cultures are considered when comparing differences (usually just two).

  This suggests that modern psychologists are mindful of the dangers of cultural bias and are taking steps to avoid it.