Culture bias

• Culture


  The rules, customs, morals and ways of interacting that bind together members of a society or some other collection of people
• Cultural bias


  The tendency to judge all cultures and individuals in terms of your own cultural assumptions. This distorts or biases your judgements
• Cultural relativism


  The view that behaviour, morals, standards and values cannot be judged properly unless they are viewed in the context of the culture in which they originate
• Example of Cultural Relativism


  • Milgram's study into obedience was originally conducted using 40 male American participants, but then also replicated using Spanish students and Australian students
• Alpha bias (in cultural relativism)


  Cultural relativism can lead to an alpha bias, where the assumption of real differences lead psychologists to overlook universals
• Beta bias (in cultural relativism)


  Cultural relativism is often discussed in the context of defining mental disorder. Behaviours that are statistically infrequent in one culture may be more frequent in another
• Alpha and Beta Bias in Cross-Cultural Research

  • Alpha bias - the assumption that there are real and enduring differences between cultural groups
  • Beta bias - theories that minimise or ignore cultural differences, assuming that all people are the same
• Ethnocentrism


  Seeing things from the point of view of ourselves and our social group. Evaluating other groups of people using the standards and customs of one's own culture
• Example of Ethnocentrism


  • Ainsworth's Strange Situation is an example of cultural relativism due to suggesting that a secure attachment was only characterised by moderate separation and stranger anxiety
• The emic-etic distinction


  Emic approach emphasises the distinction of uniqueness in every culture, while the "etic" approach seeks universal aspects of behaviour
• Evaluation


  • Bias in research methods
  • Consequences of cultural bias
  • Not all behaviours are affected by cultural bias
  • Worldwide psychology