1 Psychology 307: Cultural Psychology January 16 Lecture 4

A little R&R …. (Review and Reflect) 2

3 Research Methods 1.What unique methodological challenges do cultural psychologists encounter? (continued)

4 1. describe the primary methodological challenges that cultural psychologists encounter. By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 2. discuss procedures to overcome the methodological challenges that cultural psychologists encounter.

5 (b) Moderacy and Extremity Biases  Moderacy bias: Refers to a tendency to select scores near the midpoint of a rating scale.  Extremity bias: Refers to a tendency to select scores near the endpoints of a rating scale. What unique methodological challenges do cultural psychologists encounter? (continued)

6  E.g., Rate the item “I like to socialize” using the following scale: 1 = SD, 2 = D, 3 = N, 4 = A, 5 = SA  Research indicates that cultural groups differ in their tendency to exhibit moderacy and extremity biases.

7  Remedy: Use a “yes/no” response format or a forced- choice response format.  E.g., yes/no response format: Do you like to socialize ……………………….Yes / No  E.g., forced-choice response format: Which of the following statements best describes you? (a) I like to socialize. (b) I like to spend a lot of time by myself.

8 (c) Socially Desirable Responding  Refers to a tendency to respond to questionnaire items in a way that promotes a favorable self-image.  E.g., Rate the item “I am honest” using the following scale: 1 = SD, 2 = D, 3 = N, 4 = A, 5 = SA

9  Research indicates that cultural groups differ in their tendency to engage in socially desirable responding.  Remedies:  Administer questionnaires anonymously.

10  Use neutral items to describe positive and negative characteristics. E.g., I am friendly vs. I am comfortable talking to people who I don’t know well.  Use a separate measure to assess participants’ tendency to engage in socially desirable responding. E.g., Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, Paulhus Deception Scales

11 Items from the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (T/F) I never hesitate to go out of my way to help someone. (T) I have never intensely disliked anyone. (T) No matter who I’m talking to, I’m always a good listener. (T) There have been times when I was quite jealous of the good fortune of others. (F) On occasion I have had doubts about my ability to succeed in life. (F) There have been occasions when I felt like smashing something. (F)

12 Items from the Paulhus Deception Scales (T/F) Items assessing self-deceptive enhancement: My first impressions of people usually turn out to be right. (T) I am very confident of my judgments. (T) I am fully in control of my own fate. (T) I always know why I like things. (T) I don’t care to know what other people really think of me. (T) It would be hard for me to break any of my bad habits. (F)

13 Items from the Paulhus Deception Scales, continued Items assessing impression management: I never swear. (T) I always obey laws, even if I’m unlikely to get caught. (T) When I hear people talking privately, I avoid listening. (T) I have never dropped litter on the street. (T) I sometimes drive faster than the speed limit. (F) I have received too much change from a salesperson without telling him or her. (F)

14 (d) Reference-Group Effect  Refers to the fact that people from different cultures use different standards to evaluate themselves when responding to questionnaire items.

15  E.g., Rate the item “I am tall” using the following scale: 1 = SD, 2 = D, 3 = N, 4 = A, 5 = SA The average height of Chinese males is 5’5”; the average height of Dutch males is 6’. A 5’7” Chinese male is likely to select “5” = Strongly agree; a 5’7” Dutch male is likely to select “1” = Strongly disagree.

16  Questionnaires that assess psychological adjustment are relatively resistant to the reference-group effect because they require participants to introspect rather than compare themselves to others. E.g., Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale: I take a positive attitude toward myself. On the whole, I am satisfied with myself. I certainly feel useless at times. At times I think I’m no good at all.

17  Remedies:  Use items that refer to specific context-based scenarios/ behaviours rather than abstract psychological concepts (e.g., emotions, traits). E.g., I believe that it is wrong to engage in premarital sex vs. I am conservative.

18  Use objective measures rather than self-report measures. E.g., measures of overt behavioural or physiological responses.  Provide respondents with quantitative rather than qualitative response options. E.g., Never, 25% of the time, 50% of the time, 75% of the time, Always vs. Strongly Disagree, Disagree, …

19 (e) Deprivation Effect  Refers to the fact that people indicate a preference for values they lack or feel deficient in.  Relevant to research on cultural differences in values.

20  E.g., Using the scale below, indicate how important the following values are to you as guiding principles in your life Rejection The value is of the value of supreme importance (a) Accepting my position in life -1 01…. (b) Choosing own goals-101…. A respondent from an individualistic society is likely to provide a higher rating for item (a), whereas a respondent from a collectivistic society is likely to provide a higher rating for item (b).

21  Remedy: Use items that refer to specific context- based scenarios/behaviours rather than abstract values.

22 E.g. of scenario-based measure of the value “accepting my position in life”: Suppose that you have worked hard for a company for some time, but for reasons that are unclear, you have been passed over for promotion many times. How likely is it that you would prefer to do the following things? 1. Wait for next time and hope for the best. 2. Complain to your supervisors. 3. Threaten your supervisors with a formal protest to the company head. 4. Lower your aims and try to be content in your current position.

23 3. Obtaining Representative Samples  Cultural psychologists encounter 2 challenges with respect to sampling:

24 (a) When examining psychological universals, cultural psychologists should randomly sample from all cultural groups to ensure “worldwide representativeness.” Given the costs of such sampling, the choice of cultural groups is typically restricted to those that are readily accessible (e.g., cultural groups from industrialized nations).

25 (b) When examining a specific cultural group, cultural psychologists should randomly sample from all members of that cultural group to ensure “sample representativeness.” Given the costs of such sampling, the choice of individuals is typically restricted to those who are readily accessible (e.g., college students).

26  These sampling biases reduce the generalizability of research findings; reduce the power of cross-cultural comparisons; and inflate the degree of similarity documented between cultures.  Accordingly, when possible, cultural psychologists should avoid the use of “WEIRD” samples.

27 1. describe the primary methodological challenges that cultural psychologists encounter. By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 2. discuss procedures to overcome the methodological challenges that cultural psychologists encounter.