Question

In “The Persistent Sampling Bias,” authors describe a “color-blind” approach to psych research that has resulted in the psych field naming “truths” about how children develop that are actually trends in development that are contingent on their cultural and social contexts. They outline some of these specific disparities between children’s behaviors as a result of their cultural framing. Can you please help me answer these 3 questions.

1. What are some examples of ways that ”color-blind” policies diminish, erase, or harm people? Who is being left out according to these researchers?

2. Why are weird studies more prevalent in the literature? Why do you think there are more published studies from the US than from the Congo? Egypt? Chile?

3. How might the prevalence of the research from WEIRD countries promote biased views of cultures and human development outside of those norms?

(This is due at 5pm today) (Please give a detailed response on each of these questions)

Answer 1

1. Examples of ways that ”color-blind” policies diminish, erase, or harm people include: failing to recognize the importance of race, gender, ethnicity, and other intersectional identities; ignoring the lived experiences and perspectives of people of color; and perpetuating white supremacy by marginalizing communities of color. According to the researchers, these policies are leaving out marginalized communities and the valuable insights that their perspectives bring to the field of psychology.

2. The researchers suggest that the prevalence of “weird studies” in the literature is due to the fact that they are more easily verifiable in the dominant Western culture, which allows researchers to generalize the results to a larger population. Additionally, research from the United States may be more easily funded and published than research from countries like the Congo, Egypt, and Chile, which may have fewer resources and less access to publishing outlets.

3. The prevalence of research from WEIRD countries can promote biased views of cultures and human development outside of those norms by perpetuating the idea that the Western norms are the only “acceptable” ones. This can lead to an oversimplification of cultural norms, as well as a lack of understanding.