Culture bias

• Cultural bias occurs when what is considered ‘normal’ behaviour is judged only from the standpoint of one culture which means behaviours that differ from this cultural norm may be viewed as abnormal
• Much psychological research has been conducted in western society, which undermines the universality of such research
• Assuming research conducted in western society applies universally shows a cultural bias, as these results are only applicable to western populations
• This assumption of universality means research conclusions are wrongfully generalised globally
• Ethnocentrism occurs when a researcher uses their own cultural group as a basis for judgments about other groups
• There is a tendency to view the beliefs, customs and behaviours of our cultural group as normal, and that of other cultures as abnormal which leads to cultural bias
• The context in which a behaviour occurs is crucial when attempting to fully explain that behaviour which is known as cultural relativism
• Cultural and societal norms inform what behaviours are views as acceptable and unacceptable
• Recognising that behaviours may only make sense from the originating culture’s perspective can help to avoid cultural biases
• Emic approaches are when one culture is studied to discover behaviours that are specific to that culture. The findings of emic research tend to be significant only to the understanding of behaviour within that culture and therefore aren’t generalisable outside that context
• Etic approaches are when multiple cultures are studied to try and discover behaviours that are universal. The findings of etic research are assumed to be generalisable across all cultures
• When emic research is incorrectly applied universally it creates the issue of an imposed etic. This involves arguing that theories are universal, when they came about through emic research within a single culture
• Biased research affects theories, when results of studies don’t represent the groups of people intended, this affects the applicability and generalisability of the findings. This decreases or eliminates the value of the results
• Biased results and theories leads to the misrepresentation of groups, which can have negative effects on real people
• Researchers and psychologists need to be trained to notice bias. This helps them to make a deliberate choice as to how they act/ research/ interpret behaviour
• This is reflexivity which is the understanding that we are all affected by bias, and making deliberate, conscious attempts to counteract this when we see it in our research studies or practices