All Human, yet Different. An Emic-Etic Approach to Cross-Cultural Replication in Social Psychology

Abstract

Only little social psychological research is conducted outside so-called WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic societies) cultures (e.g., in the “Global South”). Although cross-cultural replication of social psychological theorizing and findings is thus essential for higher external validity of the field, valid cross-cultural replications are not straightforward to do. Indeed, they require more than “copy-and-pasting” the same research design in different countries. To facilitate valid cross-cultural replications, we present a collection of concrete recommendations that integrate emic and etic approaches: (1) establishing an egalitarian and respectful partnership with representatives of the local community, (2) examining whether constructs carry the same meaning are relevant in and across contexts, and (3) preparing culture-sensitive research materials and procedures. These recommendations aim to inform and improve purely “etic” approaches.