Culture bias

the chitling test

• based on African-American Culture in 1960s

• Adrian Dove developed an IQ test known as Chitling test

• Used to highlight issue of cultural bias in ‘normal’ IQ tests because it was specifically designed to favour individuals from African American cultural backgrounds

What is cultural bias

Refers to when a norm of standard of behaviour is judged only from a standpoint of one particular culture

consequence of cultural bias

• any differences that deviate from this standard will be seen as ‘abnormal’, ‘inferior’ or ‘unusual’

• Usually in reference to the dominant culture being individualist and the non-dominant culture being collectivist

Ethnocentrism

• type of culture bias which assumes superiority of a cultural/ethnic group

• Most research comes from Western Cultures (particularly Americana and Europe)

• Comparatively can see other cultures as ‘unsophisticated’

example of ethnocentric

• Ainsworth’s strange situation

• Misinterpreting child-rearing practice in other countries which deviated from the American ‘norm’ as inferior to ‘secure attachment’ which is favoured in American culture

Cultural relativism

Idea that assessment of norms, values and behaviours can only be meaningful if understood within the specific social and cultural context

importance of cultural relativism

a way of overcoming ethnocentrism

two approaches

Berry

• Etic approach

• Emic approach

Etic approach

looks at behaviour from outside of a given culture and attempts to describe those behaviours as universal

example

• Researchers use the Big Five personality traits and administer standardised personality tests in various countries

• see if traits are universally found

emic approach

Looks at behaviour from within a given culture and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture

Example

researchers would explore the indigenous beliefs and explanations surroundings “susto: (soul loss), a culture-bound syndrome associated with anxiety and distress, within the specific cultural context

Imposed etic approach

an assumption that one cultural interpretation of a behaviour can be applied to other cultures