Causes of Cultural Bias
- Most researchers are white Europeans and white north Americans. There is a lack of researchers from a range of cultures
- Researchers are sometimes unable to suspend their own biases which could lead to bias in the interpretation of results or even an abuse of the results to fuel prejudice. E.g. Gould’s “A Nation of Morons” documents Yerk’s IQ testing that was conducted in an unfair way that meant that Africans had a poorer IQ. This research was then used to influence government policy. This has been termed Scientific Racism.
- Most participants are white Americans and white Europeans.
- Cross Cultural research is difficult to conduct as researchers still struggle to suspend their own biases. Cross Cultural research is expensive, time consuming and faces language barriers. The use of unfamiliar and alien materials could have a significant effect on participants' performance.
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