PSY1SFP Week 6 Culture 1 pp FINAL.pdf

PSY1SFP SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY Cross-Cultural Research Dr Matthew Ruby [email protected] latrobe.edu.au CRICOS Provider 00115M Acknowledgment of Country La Trobe University acknowledges that our campuses are located on the lands of many traditional custodians in Australia. We recog...

PSY1SFP SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY Cross-Cultural Research Dr Matthew Ruby [email protected] latrobe.edu.au CRICOS Provider 00115M Acknowledgment of Country La Trobe University acknowledges that our campuses are located on the lands of many traditional custodians in Australia. We recognise their ongoing connection to the land and value their unique contribution to the University and wider Australian society. We are committed to providing opportunities for Indigenous Australians, both as individuals and communities through teaching and learning, research and community partnerships across all of our campuses. La Trobe University pays our respect to Indigenous Elders, past, present and emerging and will continue to incorporate Indigenous knowledge systems and protocols as part of our ongoing strategic and operational business. Lecture Outline Conducting Cross-Cultural Research Two Ways Frameworks Methods for Studying Culture Learning Outcomes Students will be able to: Describe 4 common pitfalls in cross-cultural research, and how to avoid them. Outline key principles of respect when doing research with Indigenous peoples. Explain the benefits of the experimental approach in (cross-) cultural research. Describe different research methods that work especially well in cross-cultural psychology, and the benefits of using them. Whom to Study? Follow from research question Cultures that vary on dimension of interest Cultures familiar to members of research team – Cultural biases and assumptions “Universal Family Meal” (Shweder, 1997) Image is public domain / CC0 license Image is public domain / CC0 license Developing Knowledge Ethnographies (HRAF) Collaborators from culture(s) of interest Cultural immersion Two-Eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk) An approach for reconciling Western research methods and theories with Indigenous knowledges is an approach offered by Mi’kmaw Elder, Albert Marshall. – Proposes that to promote better understanding (and research) we should approach questions with two eyes (or lenses): One that learns through identifying the strengths of Indigenous knowledge and systems One that learns through identifying the strengths of Western knowledge and systems – Combining these lenses should then benefit all. Frameworks Similar to Two-Eyed Seeing The notion of Etuaptmumk shares similarities to other contexts across the world Kaswentha (Two Row Wampum) USA Ganma (Two waters/Both ways) Aus Waka-Taurua (Double-Canoe) NZ Not just Indigenous vs Western, but between peoples in general Common theme is respecting and valuing differences for mutual benefit In this paper for environmental management and sustainability Concepts apply across many situations including health and education practice “Two‐Eyed Seeing”: An Indigenous framework to transform fisheries research and management Reid et al. (2020) Fish and Fisheries DOI: 10.1111/faf.12516) Both Ways Knowledge A representation of shared knowledge about crocodiles showing differences and well as overlap in understanding Example comes from tertiary teaching institute in NT, Aust (Michie et al., 2018) Both Ways Knowledge Four Rs have been proposed as being central ethical considerations when working with Indigenous peoples: (Jeffery et al., 2021) Respectmutual empowerment Relevance- in line with community beliefs Reciprocitymutual benefits Responsibilityselfdetermination Cross-Cultural Surveys & Questionnaires Translation Difficulties Response Biases Reference Group Effects Deprivation Effects Potential Pitfalls: Translation Accurate translation critical Team of 2 (+) bilingual translators Back-translation Beware of false cognates Image is public domain / CC0 license “Computer Messenger Bag” by Spreadshirt is licensed under CC BY 2.0 https://899thewave.fm/blog/lost-in-translation-funny-bad-englishtranslations-that-give-these-signs-a-very-different-meaning/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ2JF0vgOIN https://www.instagram.com/p/BQhMbMIhMR4 https://www.instagram.com/p/BIpfnIWDqtj And many, MANY more… https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KFC_Fried_chicken.jpg Moderacy/Extremity Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree I am a creative person. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I am a creative person. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Highly creative people may rate themselves differently across cultures – African Americans and Latiné Americans use fuller range of scale than Euro-Americans – East Asians more moderate than Euro Americans Yes/No Response (less sensitive) Standardise responses (limits some comparisons) (Hui & Triandis, 1989; Chen et al., 1995) Moderacy/Extremity Standardising allows comparison of response pattern across cultures. Can’t compare average across cultures, as each group’s mean is set to a z of 0. Not much recent research in this area- does it still hold? (Hui & Triandis, 1989; Chen et al., 1995) Acquiescence Biases Differences in general (dis)agreement to statements Slight cultural differences complicate comparisons – More holistic thinking in Asia – World is ever-changing and interconnected – Most statements have some truth to them “I am a kind person” “I am a selfish person” (Grimm & Church, 1999; Marin et al., 1992; Smith, 2004) Acquiescence Biases Standardise data (same problems as before) Reverse-score half of items I am an amazing person! I am a failure. (R) I have all kinds of talents. I’m not good at anything.(R) Everyone loves me. I’m no good at all.(R) (Kam & Meyer, 2015; Smith, 2004) Disagree 1 2 3 4 9 8 7 6 1 2 3 4 9 8 7 6 1 2 3 4 9 8 7 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 4 6 4 6 4 Agree 7 8 9 3 2 1 7 8 9 3 2 1 7 8 9 3 2 1 Acquiescence Biases To fix or not to fix? – Controlled and treated as noise – Left alone, treated as important differences – Depends on research question & design Beware of Reference Group Effects! https://heinelab.psych.ubc.ca/photos/ I am polite. I am physically active. I am short. Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Reference-Group Effect People compare themselves to similar others Comparison others differ across cultures Careless design  Apple/Orange comparisons Peru 164 cm Netherlands 184 cm “Michael Phelps Rio 2016” by Agência Brasil is licensed under CC BY 3.0 BR Manipulating Reference Groups Euro-Canadians formerly in JET Japanese exchange students in Canada Rated self on independence/interdependence Asked to compare themselves to specific others All participants familiar with both cultures (Heine et al., 2002) Manipulating Reference Groups Sample Item - Standard Format – “I have respect for the authority figures with whom I interact.” Sample Item - Cross-Cultural Format – (for Canadians) “Compared to most Japanese I know, I think I have respect for the authority figures with whom I interact.” (Heine et al., 2002) Standard Item Comparison Canadians more independent than Japanese Canadians also more interdependent than Japanese? – Overall, interaction NOT significant. – Comparing selves to different standards? Adapted from Heine et al. (2002) Cross-Cultural Reference Group Comparison Canadians more independent than Japanese Japanese more interdependent than Canadians Interaction highly significant Considering ref groups  Better match w/ existing data Adapted from Heine et al. (2002) Reference-Group Effect Most problematic for items comparing self to others No problems for comparisons within a culture Combined with moderacy/extremity and acquiescence biases, best to avoid comparing cultures on mean scores on self-report measures Image is public domain / CC0 license https://www.flickr.com/photos/sonstroem/50805107367 University Students & Sleep Adapted from Sarchiapone et al., 2014 University Students & Sleep Mean Hours of Sleep Among Adolescents 70 Percent of Sample 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Colombia Nigeria Turkey India China Thailand Country ≤6 h 7-8 h ≥9 h Adapted from Pelzer and Pengpid (2016) Indonesia Deprivation Effect Schwartz (1994) explored cultural values across 38 countries One question- how much do people like “enjoying life” and “pleasure”? East Germans: 3rd highest Italians: 2nd lowest Image is public domain / CC0 license (Schwartz, 1994) https://www.flickr.com/photos/66944824@N05/49437616763 Deprivation Effect Peng et al. (1997) Americans valued humility more than Chinese Chinese valued choosing their own goals more than Americans Perhaps measures what people want to have rather than what they actually have? Less of an issue for within-culture than cross-cultural research (Peng et al., 1997) Image is public domain / CC0 license Benefits of Experiments Common alternative to cross-cultural comparison of subjective scales Independent variable manipulated Effect on dependent variable measured e.g., Spoken language and interpersonal distance Culture can’t be assigned Image is public domain / CC0 license Benefits of Experiments Compares means of two (+) groups within each culture Response biases and reference groups held constant Comparing apples to apples again! Image is public domain / CC0 license Neuroscience Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Tracks changes in brain’s blood oxygen levels Identify areas of brain most active during certain tasks How positive do people feel when they help themselves vs. their family? Example: Telzer (2010) Euro- and Latin American participants Tasks to earn money for self or family LA: ↑ ac vity in reward area of brain when helping family Consistent with research showing ↑interdependence Helps avoid response biases (Adams et al., 2010; Telzer et al., 2010, 2015) Cultural Priming Makes certain ideas more accessible to participants Despite (sometimes dramatic) cultural differences, different cultural scripts are available to people e.g., To what extent do people see themselves as distinct from others (independent) or connected with others (interdependent)? Trafimow et al. (1991) American and Chinese participants, asked to think about how they were: Different from others (IND) Similar to family & friends (INT) Described self in survey Chinese: IND prime → descrip ons more like (typical) American American: INT prime → descrip ons more like (typical) Chinese (Norenzayan & Heine, 2005; Trafimow, 1991) Culture-Level Measures % Songs With Themes Rather than directly investigating people, researchers sometimes look at the cultural products around them (e.g., ads, fairy tales, children’s stories, web pages) Snibbe and Markus (2005) examined lyrics of music genres Country (more popular among working-class Americans) Rock (more popular among upper-middle-class Americans) 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Country Resilience Rock Uniquesness (Markus et al., 2006; Snibbe & Markus, 2005; Wang et al., 2012) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Lil_Nas_X_back_stage_at_the_MTV_Vi deo_Music_Awards_2019_(cropped).jpg If you wanted to compare how often people eat beef in Argentina, France, Australia, and India, which of these response options would be best? a) A scale ranging from -3 much less than average to 3 much more than average b) A scale ranging from 0 to 7 dinners a week d) A scale ranging from 0 never to 5 extremely often d) A scale ranging from 0 none to 10 heaps