Cultural bias

What do psychologists claim to find facts about & why is this claim often criticised?

Behaviours that are universal but in reality, these suffer from cultural bias:

• studies will be completed within Western, individualistic societies & results will then be generalised to collectivist societies (e.g. Asch & Milgram)

What has cross-cultural research shown about studies conducted in Western cultures & then generalised globally?

Results are not always the same in different cultures (e.g. the cross-cultural findings of Bond & Smith’s meta-analysis)

What is cultural bias?

• The norm/standard for a particular behaviour is judged only from the standpoint of one particular culture

• This means any results which deviate from this are seen as abnormal, inferior or unusual

What is ethnocentrism?

The belief in the superiority of one’s own cultural group (most often, a Western perspective):

• those that do not conform to the behaviours of this group are viewed as deficient, unsophisticated or under-developed

Which study is an example of ethnocentrism & why?

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation:

• secure attachment was judged from an American viewpoint, where children were expected to show separation & stranger anxiety but be comforted by the mother on her return

• behaviours that differed from this (e.g. high rates of insecure-avoidant attachment in Germany) were interpreted as cold & rejecting parenting rather than encouragement of independence

What is an imposed etic?

A theory or behaviour from one culture is wrongly assumed to apply universally to all cultures

Why is Ainsworth’s Strange Situation an example of an imposed etic?

She assumed the US-based method of classifying attachment was the norm (she imposed her own cultural understanding upon the rest of the world)

What is the difference between an etic & emic approach?

• Etic approach: studies behaviour from an outside perspective, looking for universal patterns across cultures & assuming findings can be generalised

• Emic approach: studies behaviour from within a culture, focusing on culture-specific behaviours without assuming generalisability

(think eTic = Telescope & eMic = Microscope)

What is cultural relativism?

Norms, values, ethics & moral standards can only be meaningfully understood within specific social & cultural contexts

Discuss cultural bias in psychology (16 marks)

Write your AO1 paragraph

• Psychologists aim to discover universal truths about behaviour, but many theories suffer from cultural bias as research is often conducted in Western, individualistic societies & then generalised to collectivist cultures (e.g. Asch & Milgram). However, cross-cultural replications of such studies in different parts of the world have found different results (e.g. Smith & Bond’s cross-cultural meta-analysis).

• Cultural bias occurs when behaviour is judged only from the perspective of one culture, causing other behaviours to be viewed as abnormal or inferior. One example is ethnocentrism, where researchers believe their own culture (often Western) is superior. Therefore, those that do not conform to the behaviours of this group are seen as deficient & under-developed.

• Psychological research has also been criticised for using an imposed etic approach, where behaviours found in one culture through emic research are incorrectly assumed to be universal. This suggests psychologists must consider the cultural relativism of their research, by recognising that behaviour, values & moral standards can only be meaningfully understood within specific social & cultural contexts.

Discuss cultural bias in psychology (16 marks)

Write your strength AO3 PEEL (DSM-5)

• Point: One strength of recognising cultural bias is that it has led to improved diagnostic systems.

• Evidence: For example, the DSM-5 now advises clinicians that ethnic minorities may present symptoms differently after research has found that African-Caribbean immigrants were 7 times more likely to be diagnosed with mental illness.

• Explain: This is supported by Loring & Powell, who found that 290 psychiatrists diagnosed schizophrenia more in black patients when assessing two identical case studies that only varied in race & gender.

• Link: As such, recognising cultural bias has helped make diagnostic systems more culturally sensitive & accurate, reducing the incidence of misdiagnosis.

Discuss cultural bias in psychology (16 marks)

Write your limitation AO3 PEEL (facial expressions)

• Point: A limitation of cultural bias is that not all behaviour is culturally relative, as some aspects are universal across cultures.

• Evidence: For example, basic facial expressions for emotions (e.g. happiness & guilt) are the same inter-culturally. Additionally, interactional synchrony & reciprocity are universal features of caregiver-infant interactions.

• Explain: This suggests that, although there are differences in obedience & conformity rates (e.g. Milgram & Asch) between Eastern, collectivist & Western, individualistic cultures, universal behaviours still exist.

• Link: Therefore, psychologists should avoid assuming all behaviour is shaped entirely by culture, as some findings can still be generalised across societies.

Discuss cultural bias in psychology (16 marks)

Write your limitation AO3 PEEL (Ainsworth)

• Point: One limitation of cultural bias is that it can produce ethnocentric & unrepresentative research.

• Evidence: For example, Ainsworth’s Strange Situation was developed within an American context, meaning it didn’t accurately assess child-rearing practices in other cultures.

• Explain: Anything other than secure attachment was viewed as the result of cold, rejecting mothers (e.g. 35% of German children were insecure-avoidant), rather than being seen as encouraging independence in their children.

• Link: Overall, Ainsworth’s Strange Situation suffers from an imposed etic, as the US-based method of classifying attachment was assumed to be the norm.