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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

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