Culture

• What is culture bias ?

  • the tendency to judge all people in terms of one’s own cultural assumptions
• What is alpha bias ?


  When a theory assumes that culture groups are profoundly different
• What is beta bias ?


  when cultural differences are ignored or minimised -> everyone is the same/universal conclusions and designs
• Culture bias has 3 views ?

  1. Ethnocentrism
  2. cultural relativism
  3. universality
• What is ethnocentrism ?

  Seeing the world from one’s own ctural perspective and believing that this perspective is the normal and correct
• What is cultural relativism ?


  The view that there is no right or wrong behaviour

  • behaviour can only be understood if the cultural context is taken into consideration
  • cannot be judged unless it is viewed in the context of the culture in which it originates
• What does ethnocentrism suggest ?

  One culture is superior to another and that their behaviours/social norms are the only ones
• Who demonstrated ethnocentrism ?

  • ainsworth
  • milgram
• ainsworth?

  • ideal type of attachment was secure as the infants showed moderate distress when left alone
  • led to misinterpretation of child rearing practices in other countries which seemed to deviate from the amerixan norm
  • e.g German mothers were seen as cold and rejecting but were actually encouraging independence
• Milgram?


  has been replicated in other countries as the original only used American males
• how did dove demonstrate beta bias ?

  Chitling test of intelligence -designed an IQ test to demonstrate difference in American ghetto culture and white american

  • people of other cultures typically underperformed
  • shows modern day tests are racially unfair
• What did sternberg suggest ?

  Skills are dependent on the society e.g bow and arrow are essentjal in certain society not others
• What did cultural relativism suggest ?

  Norma,vlaues, ethics and moral standards can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts

  • there is no global right or wrong, social norms are culturally relative
• What did Berry define ?

  Etic and Emic approach in studying human behaviour
• What is Etic ?


  looks at behaviour from the outside of a culture and ashamed that all behaviour is universal

  (non pp/beta bias)
• What is Emic ?

  studies one culture to understand culture- specific behaviours

  (pp/ alpha bias )
• What did Luria find ?

  asked russian rural residents this iq question

  • the correct answer is the lot but all of his sample said hammer
  • is tests demonstrate the important of context in any research
• Cultural bias in mental health ?


  DSM- American

  ICD- european

  • both are used to classify and construct mental illness in non- western cultures and assume there is no difference between cultures
  • African Caribbean - 3-5x more likely to have sz
  • Irish high depression
  • leads us to wuetsion the validity or cultural bound syndromes
• Cultural bound syndrome ?

  • a recognisable illness within a specific socket it culture which uses localised diagnostic criteria - no biological cause
  • presents issues such as why are non western behaviours measured against western criteria

  e.g eating disorders - western CBS due to emphasis around appearance
• Evaluation ?

  1. Opperationalising variables
  2. there are universal behaviours
  3. cross cultural research
• Operationalising variables ?

  • may not be the same cross- culture
  • e.g invading personal space is normal in china - imposed Etic
• Are universal behaviours ?

  Reciprocity + international synchrony + basic emotions (happy + sad)

  • innate behaviours are universal
• Cross culture research challenged typical western views ?

  van Ijzendoorn