Cultural bias

• What does universality mean?

  If psychology is a scientific study of human behaviour then it should be standardised and should apply to all people
• What’s culture bias?

  Judging other cultures by the standards and values of their own cultural perspective that this is what is normal and correct.
• What’s cultural relativism?

  Behaviours,norms,ethics and moral standards of a particular culture can be meaningful and understood within the context of the culture in which they appear
• What emic approach ?

  Focuses on one specific culture and how behaviors are understood from within that culture.

  ➢Example: Studying how mental illness is understood in Japan without assuming Western definitions
• Etic

  Applies research from one culture to all cultures

  (universal approach).

  ➢Example: Using Western IQ tests to measure

  intelligence worldwide (imposed etic).
• What does WEIRD stand for ?

  • Western
  • Educated
  • Industrialised
  • Rich
  • Democratic
• Who reviewed hundreds of studies published in leading psychology journals?

  Heinrich et al
• What were the results from Heinrich et als study?

  • 68% of ppts came from the US
  • 96% of ppts came from industrialised nations
  • 80% of ppts were undergraduates studying psychology
• What’s the conclusion from Heinrich’s study?

  Weird people define what normal is.People from non-western,less educated,agricultural and poor cultures are seen as abnormal or inferior
• What is ethnocentrism?

  When researchers see and judge other cultures by the standards and values of their own cultural perspective,assuming that this is what’s normal and correct
• What piece of research is an example of ethnocentrism?

  ainsworth and bell
• How is ainsworths attachment research ethnocentric ?

  Conducted strange situation with western babies and mothers

  Japanese babies were classified as having an insecure attachment style because they cried when theit mum left.However,this might be because Japanese mothers may rarely leave their babies alone
• What can only be understood if we study it within its specific cultural and social contexts ?

  Behaviours,norms and values but also ethics and moral standards.Recognising cultural bias helots to avoid it
• What did stemburg argue?

  The meaning of intelligence is different for different cultures

  For example,co-ordination may be more valJed in pre-liberate society,which isn’t the case for literate or developed societies
• What’s the only way to understand intelligence?

  Take cultural context into account otherwise we start to devalue other cultures

  This is because we might start making inferences that aren’t necessarily true just based on belief

  Saying one culture is inferior in intelligence,rather that appreciating the the measure of intelligence used isn’t applicable to another culture
• What’s an example of emic approach?

  Studying an Amazonian tribe by living with them,learning their language and trying to get into their heads
• What’s the sample size of the emic approach?

  Usually a single person or a small group
• What’s an advantage and disadvantage of the emic approach?

  Deep understanding of the people being studied

  Findings are hard to transfer to other cultures
• What’s the sample size of etic approaches?

  Multiple groups
• What’s an example of etic approach?

  observing an amazonian tribe from afar in order to keep objectivity
• What’s an advantage and disadvantage of the etic approach ?

  Discovery of universal patterns across groups

  More superficial and danger of ethnocentrism