cultural bias

• cultural bias

  ignoring the effects that cultural differences might have on behaviour in research
• ethnocentrism

  judging other cultures by the standards and values of one's own culture
• cultural relativism

  idea that norms and values can only be understood within specific social and cultural contexts
• etic approach

  studying from outside the culture
• emic approach

  studying from within the culture
• example of cultural relativism

  • Milgram's obedience study originally used 40 male US students
  • replicated using Spanish and Australian which had different results
  • original results were bound to US cultures
• example of ethnocentrism

  • Ainsworth's strange situation
• limitation - influential studies

  • most influential studies are culturally biased
  • Asch + Milgram originally US participants
  • Asch-type studies in collectivist cultures had higher rates of conformity
• counterpoint - media

  • increased media globalisation causes arguments that the distinction between individualist-collectivist distinction no longer applies
• limitation - ethnic stereotyping

  • has led to prejudice against groups of people
  • the first IQ tests used in WW1 army
  • many questions on the test were ethnocentric which resulted lowest scores from people in south-eastern Europe and African-Americans
  • ethnic minorities were determined as 'mentally unfit'
• strength - cultural psychology

  • cultural psychology has emerged as a result of understanding cultural bias
  • uses emic approach and indigenous researchers