M01 Pt. 3

It's WEIRD

What is the problem with universalism?

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies

What does WEIRD stand for?

Database in the behavioral sciences is drawn from an extremely narrow slice of human diversity
Behavioral scientists routinely assume that their findings from this narrow slice generalize to the species

Problem with using WEIRD societies to generalize findings

96%

What % of subjects in studies are from Western Industrialized nations?

70-80%

What % of subjects in students are college undergraduate Psychology students?

70%

What % of Psychology citations are from the US?

Industrialized vs. Small-scale societies; Western vs. Non-Western societies; Contemporary American vs. The Rest of the West; Typical contemporary Americans vs. Other Americans

What are the contrasts in the WEIRD reading?

Pronounced population variation is commonplace in the behavioral sciences
WEIRD subjects may often be the worst population from which to make generalizations
Research topics have been limited by the heavy reliance on WEIRD population
Studying children and primates is crucial, but not a replacement for comparative work
Understanding human diversity is crucial for constructing evolutionary theories of human behavior
Exclusive use of WEIRD samples is justified when seeking existential proofs

Summary of conclusions and implications