Cultural Bias...Cultural Bias...Psychological Theory & Research

... In Psychological Research

The Emic-Etic The Emic-Etic DistinctionDistinction‘Emic & Etic’ terms are used to

indicate a different set of assumption underlying cross-cultural research.

Emic ApproachEmic ApproachEmic approaches emphasize every

culture’s uniqueness by focusing on culturally specific events.

Cross-cultural comparisons ignoring emic approaches are seen as invalid.

Emic Approaches: - Study behaviour from within a culture- Study only that culture- Produce findings significant only within

that culture

Etic ApproachEtic ApproachDerived Etic: most human behaviour is

common to humans but cultural factors influence development/display of behaviour

Imposed Etic: culture plays little/no role in the development/display of human behaviour

Etic Approaches:- Study behaviour outside a culture- Study many cultures- Produce findings considered to apply to the

rest of the world

Cultural EquivalenceCultural EquivalenceCultural Bias in Obedience StudiesUnless we can rule out differences in how

these studies were carried out, we cannot be sure that findings tell us much about members of these cultures.

Milgram’s Study: ‘victims’ were men.Kilham & Mann: female give shocks to

females.

All these studies were carried out in advanced industrial cultures = not universal.

Cultural EquivalenceCultural EquivalenceCultural Bias in PsychopathologyResearchers imposing own culture’s

mental illness categories on to abnormal behaviour in other cultures. Seeing behaviour of other cultures through Western perspective.

Cultural Relativism: unique aspects of a

culture need to be considered. If cultural factors are ignored = inappropriate conclusions.

Commentary (AO2)Commentary (AO2)The validity of cross-cultural research can

be questioned because observations of behaviour in foreign culture are prone to difficulties.

Argued: it is impossible to replicate studies exactly in different cultures, so it is impossible not to be culturally biased in studying human behaviour.

Commentary (AO2)Commentary (AO2)Several Problems in establishing

similarity in cross-cultural research (Smith & Bond, 1998)

Translation: instructions/responses must be faithfully translated.

Manipulation of Variables: impact of any manipulation must be same in each cultural group studied.

Commentary (AO2)Commentary (AO2)Participants: Different social backgrounds

and experiences.

Research Tradition: Positive attitude (responses remain confidential?) Trust in the research process can not be taken for granted in other cultures.