Cultural bias can also be alpha or beta bias.

Alpha exaggerates differences between cultural groups (individualistic

and collectivistic cultures). E.g. we might assume Americans are independent and less conformist whereas the
Chinese are dependent and more conformist. Beta ignores or minimises cultural differences as they assume all
people are the same and therefore it’s okay to apply the same theories to people of different cultures. E.g. Western
IQ tests.
Ethnocentrism refers to the use of our own ethnic or cultural groups as a basis for judgements about other groups.
There is a tendency to view the beliefs and customs of our own group as normal and even superior, whereas those of
other groups are ‘strange’ or deviant. Ethnocentrism can be alpha bias if we consider our own culture to be different
and better, consequently devaluing other cultures and practices. An example is Ainsworth’s research into attachment
which used imposed etic. Ethnocentrism can also be beta bias if we think that our world view is the only world view.
E.g. using ethnocentric American IQ tests across the world to measure different people’s intelligence as there is an
assumption that the American standard is universal. Western societies see intelligence as something within the
individual. However, research has shown that in Uganda, intelligence is viewed as the relationship between shared
knowledge between an individual and the community. This results in non-western people seeming less intelligent
when using western IQ tests as it’s not appropriate to them (imposed etic).
Cultural relativism is the opposite of ethnocentrism, because it suggests that all cultures are worthy of respect and we
must fully understand how that culture sees the world.
This in combination with alpha bias assumes that there are real differences between cultures, but psychologists do
not see the universals. E.g. Margaret Mead‘s research in Papua New Guinea (where she spent years living with
different tribes) she concluded there are gender differences due to culture, but then later realised men in all cultures
are more aggressive than women due to biological make up.
Cultural relativism combined with beta bias is often relevant when defining mental disorders. Using the statistical
infrequency definition, behaviours which are infrequent in one culture may be more frequent in another. E.g.
symptoms of schizophrenia: claiming to hear voices is more common in some cultures than others. By assuming
people’s experience of mental illness is the same universally we may incorrectly diagnose some people as mentally
ill.

One way to counter ethnocentrism in psychology is to encourage indigenous psychologies (developing different
groups of theories in different countries). E.g. Afrocentrism is a movement believing that all Black people have their
roots in Africa and that psychological theories concerning them must be African centred and must express African
values. Afrocentrism disputes the view that the European values are universally appropriate descriptions of all human
behaviour. It also suggests that European culture devalues non-European people and is not relevant to the life and
culture of people with African descent.
Psychologist could use an ‘etic’ approach which seeks universals in behaviour, whilst using indigenous researchers in
each cultural setting. E.g. David Buss and his team did this in their classic study of sexual selection of mate
preferences (relationships). The collected data from thousands of people in 37 different cultures, using local
researchers: One translated a questionnaire from English into the native language, a second translated the answers
back into English and the third was available to help with any problems.
Another way to deal with culture bias in psychology is to ensure participants used in research samples represent
different cultural backgrounds. However, according to Smith and Bond who looked at research in psychology
textbooks: 66% of studies were American, 32% European and 2% from the rest of the world. Furthermore, it seems
most participants in psychological studies are American, undergraduate students. Research has found that American
students for 4000 times more likely to be randomly selected been a random non-westerner. This means that most of
psychology is based on middle-class, academic, young adults, who are often male, resulting in findings being not only
unrepresentative on a global scale but also within western cultures.
One of the worst examples of damage done by psychologists through culture bias was the US Army IQ test
implemented in the First World War. The tests showed that white American males were at the top, then European
immigrants, with African immigrants at the bottom of the scale. The tests contained huge cultural bias but still had a
profound impact on the attitudes held by Americans towards black people. This data led to very negative stereotypes
concerning certain ethnic groups and fuelled racism.