Cross Cultural Studies in Clincial Psychology

Why do psychologists conduct cross cultural research?

Why are cross cultural studies conducted in clincal psychology? to investigate the universality of behaviour - the extent to which a behaviour is the same the world if behaviour is universal (i.e. unaffected by culture) then ... it is likely to be biologically determined; nature not nurture For example, if the prevalence of depression or schizophrenia is similar all over the world … we can assume it is not affected by culture and may be more affected by our genes; potentially the behaviours had some form of survival value and are a product of evolution…

What does it mean when cultures are similar? What does it mean when cultures differ?

Understanding the findings of CC studies When there are ... differences between the tested cultures, it can be inferred that these differences are a product of differing socialisation, e.g. child-rearing experiences and behaviours are shaped more by nurture than nature similarities between cultures, it can be inferred that these are down to innate, behaviours (inborn) which determine development for all humans, regardless of culture

How do psychologists conduct CC research. What would the IV and DV be How do psychologists conduct CC research? What would the IV and DV be? Why are cross cultural studies not experiments in the true sense of the word?

How are cross cultural studies conducted? The dependent variable is the behaviours, feelings, thoughts etc demonstrated/experienced by the participants This information could be collected by .... observation interview standardised testing The IV is naturally occurring and is the differing cultures which are compared. cross cultural studies are a form of quasi-experiment the IV is not manipulated by the experimenter  

Why might it be difficult to gather valid and reliable data in cultures other than your own (unless you have spent a good deal of time in the ‘to-be-studied’ culture)?

Conducting CC research effectively Necessary to become familiar with the beliefs, values and attitudes of the people of the culture that are being observing Need to understand cultural meaning, context and relevance of the behaviours observed cultural relativism means being aware of cultural context before making judgement about behaviours)

Etic and Emic research Often research paradigms are developed in one culture and used in other cultures with the expectations that results will be valid and reliable This is called the etic approach Milgram’s obedience paradigm was developed by an American at Yale, but used to test obedience in many other cultures, which mau be very different to New Haven, this an imposed etic. Using the DSM to diagnose clincial disorders in other parts of the world is also an imposed etic and the resutls may therefore not be valid.

Emic Research similar to ethnography starting with participant observations gain qualitative data use local sources and researchers building understanding ‘within the heart of the family’ rather than’ watching through the window’

Operationalising the term ‘culture’ operationalising ‘culture’ as a ‘country’ can lead to erroneous conclusions findings may relate to one sub-culture only ignores the fact that within any culture there will be diversity and individual differences many studies have been conducted in various African tribal cultures yet they have all been referred to as ‘African’ differences and similarities between tribes have now been considered direct contrast to old research where, one textbook was accused of racism for referring to African tribes as a whole, implying they are all the same (Howitt and Owusu-Bempah, 1990)