Ch. 2 Cross-Cultural Research Methods Quiz #3

Cultural attribution fallacies

A mistaken interpretation in cross-cultural comparison studies. Cultural attribution fallacies occur when researchers infer that something cultural produced the differences they observed in their study, despite the fact that they may not be empirically justified in doing so because they did not actually measure those cultural factors.

Equivalence

A state or condition of similarity in conceptual meaning and empirical method between cultures that allows comparisons to be meaningful; a lack of bias.

Factor analysis

A statistical technique that allows researchers to group items on a questionnaire. The theoretical model underlying factor analysis is that groups of items on a questionnaire are answered in similar ways because they are assessing the same, single underlying psychological construct (or trait). By interpreting the groupings underlying the items, therefore, researchers make inferences about the underlying traits that are being measured.

Response Bias

A systematic tendency to respond in certain ways to items or scales.

Back translation

A technique of translating research protocals that involves taking the protocal as it was developed in one language, translating it into the target language, and having someone else translate it back to the original. If the back-translated version is the same as the original, they are generally considered equivalent. If it is not, the procedure is repeated until the back-translated version is the same as the original.

Bias

Differences that do not have exactly the same meaning within and across cultures; a lack of equivalence

Socially desirable responding

Tendencies to give answers on questionnaires that make oneself look good.

Decenter

The concept underlying the procedure of back translation that involves eliminating any culture-specific concepts of the original language or translating them equivalently into the target language.

Structural Equivalence

The degree to which a measure used in a cross cultural study produces the same factor analysis results in the different countries being compared.

Conceptual Bias

The degree to which a theory or set of hypotheses being compared across cultures are equivalent-that is, whether they have the same meaning and relevance in all the cultures being compared.

Internal Reliability

The degree to which different items in a questionnaire are related to each other, and give consistent responses

Psychometric Equivalence

The degree to which different measures used in a cross-cultural comparison study are statistically equivalent int he cultures being compared - that is, whether the measures are equally valid and reliable in all cultures studied.

Measurement Bias

The degree to which measures used to collect data in different cultures are equally valid and reliable.

Reference group effect

The idea that people make implicit social comparisons with others when making ratings on scales. That is, people's ratings will be influenced by the implicit comparisons they make between themselves and others, and these influences may make comparing responses across cultures difficult.

Linguistic bias

The semantic equivalent between protocals (instruments, instructions, questionnaires, etc.) used in cross-cultural comparison study.

Acquiescence bias

The tendency to agree rather than disagree with items on questionnaires

Extreme response bias

The tendency to use the ends of a scale regardless of item content

Operationalization

The ways researchers conceptually define a variable and measure it.