culture bias

Define culture

The values, beliefs and patterns of behaviour shared by a group of individuals

Define culture bias

The tendency to judge people in terms of one’s own cultural assumptions

Example of culture bias

Psychopathology - definitions of abnormality - African-Caribbeans in Britain are more likely to be diagnosed as psychologically ill

Define alpha bias

When a theory assumes that cultural groups are profoundly different

Define beta bias

When real cultural differences are ignored or minimised

Define ethnocentrism

Seeing the world from ones own cultural perspective and believing this is accurate

Example of ethnocentrism

Attachment - Ainsworths strange situation - designed in America to assess attachment types

Define cultural relativism

Insists that behaviour can be properly understood if the cultural context is taken into consideration

Example of cultural relativism

Attachment types - childrearing and parenting culturally relative

Psychological disorders - anxiety disorders - Japan fear of upsetting others

Define universality

Theory/research is universal it can be applied to all people irrespective of culture or gender

Evaluation of cultura bias

Recognising culture bias - way of dealing - Smith & Bond - 66% American - 32% Europe - 2% rest - 67% American psychology undergrads

Consequences of culture bias - amplifying and validating stereotypes - American IQ test

Progress in culture bias - consideration of bias leads to increased understanding of issue - reducing ethnocentrism - Indigenous psychology - draw on experiences of individuals in different cultural contexts