Heine Chapter 4: Methods for Studying Culture and Psychology

methodological equivalence

in cross cultural research, the concern with making sure participants from different cultures understand the research questions or situations in equivalent ways

generalizability

the degree to which research findings about the particular samples studied can be applied to larger or broader populations

power

the capability of a study to accurately detect an effect to the extent that one exists; a reflection of how well-designed a study is.

independent variable

in an experiment, the variable or condition that the experimenter manipulates in order to examine its effect on the dependent variable

dependent variable

in an experiment, the variable or measure affected by manipulation of the independent variable

back-translation

A method of translating research materials from one language to another whereby a translator translates materials from Language A to Language B and then a different translator translates the materials back from Language B to Language A. The original and twice-translated versions in Language A are then compared so that any discrepancies between them can be resolved.

socially desirable responding

A response bias in which people's responses are distorted by their motivation to be evaluated positively by others.

acquiescence bias

a tendency to agree with most statements one encounters

reference-group effect

a tendency for people to evaluate themselves by comparing themselves with others from their own culture

deprivation effect

a tendency for people to value something more when it is lacking in their culture

between-groups manipulation

A type of experimental manipulation in which different groups of participants receive different levels of the independent variable(s).

within-groups manipulation

A type of experimental manipulation in which each participant receives more than one level of the independent variable(s).

situation sampling

A method used for comparing cultures with psychological measures. Situations are generated by participants in more than one culture, and then those situations are presented to different groups of participants from multiple cultures. This method allows us to see both (a) whether situations common in one culture influence people differently than situations common in another culture, and (b) whether people in one culture respond to the same situations differently than those from another culture.

cultural priming

a method that makes ideas associated with particular cultural meaning systems more accessible to participants

unpackaging

identifying the underlying variables that give rise to different cultural differences

Occam's razor

The principle that any theory should make as few assumptions as possible; it maintains that, all else held equal, the simpler theory is more likely to be correct.

culture of honor

a culture in which people (especially men) strive to protect their reputation through aggression

response biases

factors that distort the accuracy of a person's responses to surveys