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Researchers who are unfamiliar with the cultural and ethnic groups they are
studying must take extra precautions to shed any biases they bring with them
from their own culture. For example, they must make sure they construct measures
that are meaningful for each of the cultural or ethnic minority groups being
studied.
In conducting research on cultural and ethnic minority issues,
investigators distinguish between the emic approach and the etic approach. In
the emic approach, the goal is to describe behavior in one culture or ethnic
group in terms that are meaningful and important to the people in that culture
or ethnic group,without regard to other cultures or ethnic groups. In the etic
approach, the goal is to describe behavior so that generalizations can be made
across cultures. If researchers construct a questionnaire in an emic fashion,
their concern is only that the questions are meaningful to the particular
culture or ethnic group beingstudied. If. however, the researchers construct a
questionnaire in an etic fashion,they want to include questions that reflet
concepts familiar to all cultures involved.
How might the emic and etic approaches be reflected in the study of family
processes? In the emic approach,the researchers might choose to focus only on
middle-class White families, without regard for whether theinformation obtained
in the study can be generalized or is appropriate for ethnic minority groups. In
a subsequent study. the researchers may decide to adopt an etic approach by
studying not only middle-class White families, but also lower-income White
families. Black American families, Spanish American families. andAsian American
families. In studying ethnic minority families, the researchers would likely
discover that the extended family is more frequently a, support system in ethnic
minority families than in White American families. If so, the emic approach
would reveal a different pattern of family interaction than would theetic
approach, documenting that research with middle-class White families cannot
always be generalized to all ethnic groups.
1. According to the First paragraph.researchers unfamiliar with the target
cultures are inclined to________________.
A) be overcautious in constructing meaningful measures
B) view them from their own cultural perspective
C) guard against interference from their own culture
D) accept readily what is alien to their own culture
2. What does the author say about the emic approach and the etic
approach'?
A) They have different research focuses in the study of ethnic issues.
B) The former is biased while the latter is objective.
C) The former concentrates on the study of culture while the latter on
family issues.
D) They are both heavily dependent on questionnaires in conducting
surveys.
3. Compared with the etic approach the emic approach is apparently
more______________.
A) culturally interactive
B) culture-oriented
C) culturally biased
D) culture-specific
4. The etic approach is concerned with________________.
A) the general characteristics of minority families
B) culture-related concepts of individual ethnic groups
C) features shared by various cultures or ethnic groups
D) the economic conditions of different types of families
5. Which of the following js true of the ethnic minority families in the
U.S. according to the passage'?
A) Their cultural patterns are usually more adaptable.
B) Their cultural concepts are difficult to comprehend.
C) They don't interact with each other so much as White families.
D) They have closer family ties than White families.
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发表于 2016-12-4 13:30:18