Culture Bias and Sub-Culture Bias

Cultural Bias: Definition

When designing and conducting studies, researchers aim to be as objective as possible. However, sometimes our biases are implicit; we might not even realise that we have them. One example of this is cultural bias.

Since culture permeates our daily reality, we rarely question how it affects us and how it can affect research.

Cultural bias is likely to occur when we are not aware of the cultural ideas we impose on other cultures.

An example of cultural bias (specifically beta bias) in research is when researchers generalise their findings to other cultures even though the sample is limited to only one culture.

Sub-Cultural Bias

A subculture is a group with a set of customs, beliefs, behaviours, etc., that distinguishes it from its larger culture. Subcultural bias occurs when the research aims to generalise its findings to a certain group but may not consider whether the sample is representative of all the subcultures in that group.

Effects of Cultural Bias Psychology

Cultural bias is when someone judges something based on 'stereotypical' values, beliefs or characteristics of the subject. It can lead us to make and form prejudiced opinions and choices, leading to wrongful discrimination.

Cultural Bias Characteristics

Cultural bias characteristics can be understood by studying the distinction between ethnocentrism and cultural relativity in research.

Ethnocentrism vs Cultural Relativism

Ethnocentrism is an example of cultural bias. It occurs when we interpret the behaviour of people from a different culture through our own cultural lens. It involves generalising one's cultural values to other cultures based on the assumption that one's cultural perspective is the right one and is universally shared.

In contrast, cultural relativism promotes the understanding of the influence of people's culture on behaviour. Cultural relativism involves a consideration of the values, practices, or norms of people in their cultural context.

It recognises the limits to the generalisability of findings based on the sample used and is the view that we must understand cultural behaviours and principles through the context of that culture.

Research findings demonstrating cultural relativity are highly reliable and generalisable to the intended audience because it clearly recognises its cultural context.

Cultural Differences: Individualistic vs Collectivist Cultures

One example of a cultural difference is the individualism vs collectivism orientation, which affects the culture's practices and human behaviour. If researchers do not consider cultural differences in their study, they may misinterpret, misunderstand or incorrectly base their research on assumptions, prejudices, and stereotypes.

Western societies are typically more individualistic, while Eastern cultures are often collectivist.

Independence and freedom of choice are valued and encouraged. Typically, individualistic societies strive for self-actualisation and tend to be more competitive in achieving their personal goals.

Collectivism promotes reservation and adherence to tradition more than individualism does. People are viewed as interdependent, and cooperation and conformity to one's social role are valued.

Fig. 3 - Western countries tend to be more individualistic, while Eastern countries are often more collectivist.

Different psycho-cultural factors tend to influence the two different types of cultures. This is the case when psychological and cultural factors influence personality.

Cultural bias can become a problem when people do not consider that there are clear cultural differences between themselves and others, such as between people living in Western and Eastern cultures.

Cultural bias is a consequence of cultural variation. Cultural variation refers to the idea that social practices, rules, beliefs, and behaviours differ across cultures in the world. Therefore, if the same study is repeated in a Western and an Eastern country, it is unlikely that the same results will be found.

Cultural Bias: Example

The approach we take in cross-cultural research studies may influence the likelihood of cultural bias. When we look at cross-cultural research, we must consider whether it was conducted from an etic or emic approach.

Cultural Bias and the Etic Approach

First, let's define an etic approach to cross-cultural research.

The etic approach involves applying a theory or model to all cultures, assuming that it can be applied universally.

Ainsworth's Strange Situation procedure investigates an infant's response to mildly stressful events, like their primary caregiver leaving them in a room. Based on the infant's behaviour, they are then classified into one of the attachment styles that Ainsworth developed by studying White, American mother-child dyads.

While it was assumed that Ainsworth's procedure allows universal classification of infants across cultures, Takahashi (1986) has found that it doesn't produce reliable findings when applied to Japanese children.

Cultural Bias and the Emic approach

Now, let's explore the emic approach.

If we consider the cultural concept of Takahashi's (1986) research, we can better understand why the Strange Situation procedure did not work for Japanese infants.

In Japan, it was much less common for the mother to leave the child alone. The Japanese infants were much less familiar with separation and reacted more strongly. Therefore, due to Japanese child-rearing practices, the events in the procedure were severely rather than just mildly stressful for Japanese infants, and this was theorised to skew the results.

Issues with Cultural Bias in Research

Cultural bias can threaten the generalisability and reliability of research, as we have covered throughout our explanation.

Moreover, culturally biased research has limited applicability to real life.

Issues with validity also exist, in that if cultural differences are not acknowledged and taken into account, researchers are not accurately measuring the concept they are aiming to study.

How can Research Limit Cultural |Bias?

To limit the potential cultural bias, researchers should reflect on their assumptions and make sure that their research sample is representative of the target population they want to generalise their findings.

Moreover, conducting cross-cultural research can help uncover cultural biases. Researchers can also use meta-analyses to compare and contrast the results of cross-cultural studies to determine if similar results have been reported across them.