cultural bias

• what is cultural bias?


  refers to a tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all phenomena through the lens of one culture.
• what is ethnocentrism?


  judging other cultures by the standards and values of ones own culture.
• what is cultural relativism?


  the idea that norms and values, as well as ethics and moral standards can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts.
• what is an etic approach?


  looks at behaviour from outside a given culture and attempts to describe those behaviours as universal
• what is an emic approach?

  functions from within certain cultures and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture.
• whats an example of a study in psychology which shows ethnocentrism?


  -Ainsworth's strange situation was criticised for only reflecting the norms and values of American culture. she suggested secure attachment was shown when the child showed distress when left by the mother figure.

  -this led to the misunderstanding of other cultures child rearing practices.
• what are some limitations of cultural bias?


  -NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES e.g. the US army IQ test which was used before WW1. the results showed European immigrants below white-americas and African Americans as falling at the bottom of the scale. this has affects in terms of the attitudes held towards these groups.

  -DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS may be more of a problem when undertaking cross-cultural research as p's may be less familiar with the scientific method. findings of such studies are less likely to be valid.
• what is a strength of research into cultural bias?


  -psychologists analysed 15 studies comparing an individualist culture and a collectivist culture and found no evidence of difference in behaviour in 14 of them suggesting cultural differences may not be as big a factor as previously thought.