CHAPTER PREVIEW
Most psychologists would agree that our attitudes and beliefs affect the way we make judgments. When we draw a conclusion about somebody's behavior, our judgments may reflect us as much as the people we observe. That is, we see others in a particular way because of who we are. If we share the same culture as those we study, we may be able to gain insights into why they act as they do. On the other hand, when we observe behaviors of those in other cultures, we may not understand what motivates them.
Understanding the effects of culture on behavior requires detailed knowledge of the person being observed as well as that person's culture, which is not easy. The issues we have to consider are complex. For instance, how do culture, ethnicity, and race affect behavior? The answer is certainly complex. Even though most people firmly believe that there are several easily definable races of people, many scientists have come to the conclusion that the concept of race is a social construction, not a biological fact. According to a great number of anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, biologists, and geneticists, race is not a particularly useful biological concept. Yet many people believe that it exists.
Even though a concept like race may be scientifically invalid, we can still identify behaviors associated with culture or ethnicity, although there are pitfalls we need to avoid. Research participants are often assigned to categories in simplistic and contradictory ways from one study to another. Fortunately, more researchers are coming to the realization that we need to have good cross-cultural knowledge if we are going to understand people.
Finally, studying differences between women and men poses problems in research. Sometimes, investigators find ways to reinforce pre-existing beliefs by failing to acknowledge what might be considered cultural differences between the sexes. The researchers may believe in myths that are not true, so their research may be flawed.
Throughout this chapter, your beliefs will be challenged, and you will have to deal with controversies that, ultimately, may make you view people differently and change the way you think about studying them.
Different Cultural Perspectives
It would be a mistake to assume that all people think as we do. As a result, we should be cautious in interpreting why people act as they do when these people come from a culture that is different from ours.
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