Cultural Bias

• What is culture bias?


  Tendency to judge all people in terms of your own cultural assumptions. Means that cultural differences in behaviour may be seen as 'abnormal' or 'inferior
• What is ethnocentrism?


  The belief thatour own group or culture is superiorto all other groups or cultures. May lead toprejudiceanddiscrimination
• Topic link - Ainsworth


  Strange situation reflected norms of US cultureand was based on finding from a british psychologist.Japan - lots of children dropped out due to extreme anxiety
• Topic link - IQ testing

  Test was designed around white middle class knowledge. Burt found that white people had a much higher IQ compared to black people and this information was used to justify racial segregation in the US.
• What is cultural relativism?


  One cannot judge a behaviour properly unless it is viewed in the context of the culture in which it originates
• Topic link - Asch


  Asch conducted his study on conformity on American participants and found that 32% conformed on at least one trial. However, America is an example of a more individualistic culture where people value the individual over the group. Other studies conducted on more collectivist cultures have challenged the universality of Asch's findings. For an example a conformity study conducted in India (collectivist culture) have found conformity levels to be as high as 58%
• Topic link - Sz

  in the UK, Afro-Caribbean people are more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia in comparison to white British and be held in secure hospitals. This could be because of ethnocentrism and how hallucinations are viewed by white British Psychiatrists. Some cultures for example, view 'hallucinations/ visions' in a more positive way and this viewpoint is not taken into account by British Psychiatrists.Research like this isignoring differences between culturesand these labels have ethical implications.
• What is an etic construct?

  A technique or theorydeveloped in one cultureand used to study the behaviour ofpeople in different culturese.g strange situation used outside US/UK
• What is an emic construct?


  Something that applies only in one culturee.g culture bound.
• China vs West


  Behavioural expressions of emotionse.g aggression may produce different behaviours between cultures. In China, the invasion of personal space is normal but in the west could be seen as threatening or confrontational.