2a. Issue of Cultural Bias

What is universality in the context of cultural bias?

Universality in the context of cultural bias= Any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to all regardless of experience, environment or cultural differences.

What is cultural bias?

Cultural bias= a tendency to interpret all phenomena through the ‘lens’ of one’s own culture, ignoring the effects that cultural differences might have on behaviour.

Most psychologists believe that their aim should be to uncover universal scientific facts. However, the reality of most scientific methods and studies is that they have little generalisability beyond the sample and some small groups beyond. The problem in a lot of mainstream psychology is the incorrect assumption that findings in western cultures apply to all, leading to cultural differences in behaviour being seen as 'abnormal' in comparison to western cultural norms.

What is Ethnocentrism and give an eg?

Ethnocentrism= This happens when researchers judge other cultures by the standards of their own and can lead to prejudiced and discriminatory conclusions that regard non-western behaviours as unsophisticated and underdeveloped.

For example, Ainsworth's Strange Situation procedure is biased toward an American norm of parenting and attachment, leading her to conclude that insecure-resistant and insecure-avoidant attachment types are unhealthy and create developmental maladjustment later in life.

However, Van Ijzendoorn's cross-cultural research showed these attachment types to be relatively normal in other countries/cultures (i.e. Avoidant in Germany and Resistant in Japan) and other research has shown that they do not necessarily lead to developmental problems there, highlighting her unjustified judgement of their parenting styles to be negative.

What is Imposed Etic?

Imposed Etic= Examining behaviour 'objectively' and claiming it to be universal to all humans, often leading to cultural bias and overgeneralisation (as can be seen in Ainsworth).

What is Imposed Emic?

Imposed Emic= Examining behaviour more subjectively and accepting it as specific to that culture, often leading to cultural relativism which defeats the aim of universality (as can be seen in Van Ijzendoorn).