Universality and Bias

Many psychologists claim to have discovered ‘facts’ about human behaviour that apply to every human everywhere
However, their studies are often restricted to one particular group of people they were studying
Critics argue that mainstream psychology has ignored culture as an important influence on human behaviour

Cultural Bias

If psychologists judge what they perceive to be ‘normal’ behaviour based on only what is the norm in their own culture, then this is cultural bias
This is because behaviours that do not follow their cultural norms will then be labelled as ‘abnormal’ or ‘inferior’, which is not an objective label

A form of cultural bias
It is the usage of ones own cultural group as a basis for judgements about other groups as we see our own culture as superior to other cultures
In psychological research this may be evident through a view that any behaviours which do not conform to the (usually Western) model are inferior, unsophisticated or underdeveloped

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (1970) is an example of this as it only reflects norms and values of American culture
- E.g., ideal/secure attachment - infant showing moderate distress when mother leaves
However, this inappropriately labels mothers in other cultures because their children do not follow this American cultural norm for ‘secure’ attachment
- E.g., German mothers were seen as cold and rejecting because they encouraged the independence of their children

Ainsworth’s research is an example of imposed etic
This is when a psychologist imposes their own cultural understanding upon other people from different cultures
Berry argues that psychology is guilty of imposed etic
This means psychologists take the findings of research conducted on their own culture and then attempt to use it to make universal theories for all cultures
However, the things they discover only make sense from the perspective of the culture in which the study took place