Research Talk Prof. Dr. Steven Heine

Psychology suffers from the problem of studying a narrow database: the vast majority of psychological research is conducted on samples that are from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies. The problem is both that many psychological phenomena appear differently across cultures, and that WEIRD samples are psychological outliers on many dimensions. I will review some evidence that reveals the extent of cultural diversity in various psychological processes. In addition, I will discuss the evidence of the field’s progress, or the lack thereof, in responding to this problem. I’ll consider some of the problematic implications for the field when it relies so much on this narrow and unusual database, and how it intersects with the replicability crisis in psychology. I’ll conclude by discussing some ideas about ways that the field could move forward.