Are we really that different from each other? The difficulties of focusing on similarities in cross-cultural research.

Abstract

In this article we argue that there are 2 dominant underlying themes in discussions of strategies for dealing with diversity-similarity and difference. When we are dealing with social groups, a number of basic psychological processes, as well as popular media and research-based narratives, make it easier to highlight difference rather than similarity. This difference-based approach in research is inherently divisive, but the training that we receive as researchers in the field of psychology has taken us down this path. As a first step, we propose that researchers working in the area of cultural diversity should start making explicit attempts to highlight similarities between groups, even if such similarities are only based on the absence of observed statistical differences. Moreover, if we are going to be serious about demonstrating similarity between groups and certain types of universals in behavior, we should start embracing new approaches to data analyses and consider using statistical procedures that test for equivalence. We illustrate these new techniques using our own data. Finally, we argue that shifting our primary focus from difference to similarity is a worthwhile direction to pursue for successfully managing diversity in multicultural societies.

Polyculturalism and attitudes toward Muslim Americans.

“…Approaching diversity and understanding cultures in more dynamic ways that allows for nuances of both difference and connection among groups is a direction much work is taking that may be promising for intergroup relations. For example, Lalonde, Cila, Lou, and Cribbie (2015) has argued that in psychology we are biased toward focusing on differences between groups, often at the expense of paying attention to similarities across diverse groups of people. In addition, Moghaddam (2012) has argued for taking an “omniculturalism” approach to improving intergroup relations, by first teaching people to focus on commonalities across groups, and then later teaching them to recognize differences between groups.…”

Why Should We All Be Cultural Psychologists? Lessons From the Study of Social Cognition

“…Conducting theory-driven, hypothesis-based research is critical to identifying and understanding cultural similarities and differences. In particular, informed hypotheses about cultural similarities will help researchers make decisions about research design, sample selection, and statistical strategies that allow them to effectively test for equivalence and subsequently obtain interpretable findings (Lalonde, Cila, Lou, & Cribbie, 2015). Cultural similarities may suggest universality in the underlying biological-cognitive mechanisms on the one hand and shared human conditions and life circumstances on the other.…”

Negotiating with those like me: Similarity salience increases positive attitudes in imagined negotiation with an out-group member.

“…Although our hypotheses concerned the difference between a focus on similarities versus differences (as in Ames, 2004), we included a neutral control condition to provide further support for our hypothesis that it is the focus on shared characteristics (similarities), rather than differences, that drives the effects. As we expected differences to be a default focus in intergroup interactions (e.g., Gordijn et al, 2001; Lalonde et al, 2015), we did not expect significant differences between the control and differences conditions.…”