Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-05T07:21:53.894Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The WEIRD are even weirder than you think: Diversifying contexts is as important as diversifying samples

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2010

Stephen J. Ceci
Affiliation:
Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Sjc9@cornell.eduhttp://www.human.cornell.edu/che/bio.cfm?netid=sjc9
Dan M. Kahan
Affiliation:
Yale Law School, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8215. dan.kahan@yale.eduhttp://www.culturalcognition.net/kahan/
Donald Braman
Affiliation:
George Washington University Law School, Washington, DC 20052. donald.braman@gmail.comhttp://www.culturalcognition.net/braman/

Abstract

We argue that Henrich et al. do not go far enough in their critique: Sample diversification, while important, will not lead to the detection of generalizable principles. For that it will be necessary to broaden the range of contexts in which data are gathered. We demonstrate the power of contexts to alter results even in the presence of sample diversification.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baldry, J. C. (1986) Tax evasion is not a gamble: A report on two experiments. Economics Letters 22(4):333–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ceci, S. J. (1996) On intelligence: A bio-ecological treatise on intellectual development, 2nd edition. Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ceci, S. J., Fitneva, S. A. & Williams, W. M. (2010) Representational constraints on the development of memory and metamemory: A developmental-representational theory. Psychological Review 117:464–95.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gneezy, U. & Rustichini, A. (2000) Pay enough or don't pay at all. Quarterly Journal of Economics 115(3):791810.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1983) Mental models. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Kahan, D. M. (in press) Culture, cognition, and consent: Who perceives what, and why, in “acquaintance rape” cases. University of Pennsylvania Law Review.Google Scholar
Kahan, D. M., Braman, D., Gastil, J., Slovic, P. & Mertz, C. K. (2007) Culture and identity-protective cognition: Explaining the white-male effect in risk perception. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 4(3):465505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahan, D. M., Hoffman, D. A. & Braman, D. (2009) Whose eyes are you going to believe? Scott v. Harris and the perils of cognitive illiberalism. Harvard Law Review 122:837.Google Scholar
Liberman, V., Samuels, S. M. & Ross, L. (2004) The name of the game: Predictive power of reputations versus situational labels in determining Prisoner's Dilemma Game moves. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 30(9):1175–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed