Distinguishing Centri-Cultural from Cross-Cultural Tests and Research

Abstract

This paper distinguishes two strategies in work relating abilities and culture. In one, tests from one measure people elsewhere can perform: how well can they do our tricks? Most 'culture-fair' tests are of this type, which as it essentially revolves about the test-originating culture, we can call 'centri-cultural.' In spite of repeated explanations, as by Berry (1966) who wrote 'the search for a (universally valid) culture free test is futile,' invalid claims continue to be made. Kunce, et al. (1967) aver that a Maze test was a '. . . non-cultural measure of intelligence' and Tulkin (1968) has described Raven's Matrices as 'more culture-fair' than other tests. Witkin (1967) claims Oltman's (1968) portable, body-straight Rod-and-frame Test is 'uniquely suited to the special demands of cross-cultural research.' The portable RFT results correlate well with the visual EFT, thus both are appropriate for measuring conventional Euro-American skills; but Wober (1967) showed that one needs the complete RFT with body-tilt to reveal abilities in an African that would not be detectable with the portable RFT. Cappon, et a1. ( 1968) still searching for a test 'free of culture' devised a Sensory Quotient test including materials involving different sense modalities. This may reveal abilities specific to disparate cultures and exemplifies our second strategy: how (well) can we measure they do their tricks? The SQ test and the RFT with body-tilt may therefore better be called 'cross-cultural' tests. The Matrices, Maze, Portable RFT and most tests so far devised in the West (probably the very notion of test itself) are 'centricultural.' The distinction applies to investigations other than tests as this hypothetical analogy may show: if a European researcher studies U.S. soccer and bases his analysis of U.S. compared with European sport on this fieldwork, he has followed a centri-cultural strategy. All claimed 'cross-cultural' research to date should be re-examined to see whether it is so and equally revealing and valid for each examined, or if it is more truly centri-cultural.