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Weirdness is in the eye of the beholder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2010

Will M. Bennis  and
Douglas L. Medin
Will M. Bennis
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208. [email protected]@northwestern.eduhttp://www.wcas.northwestern.edu/psych/people/faculty/faculty_individual_pages/Medin.htm
Douglas L. Medin
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208. [email protected]@northwestern.eduhttp://www.wcas.northwestern.edu/psych/people/faculty/faculty_individual_pages/Medin.htm
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Abstract

Henrich et al.'s critical review demonstrating that psychology research is over-reliant on WEIRD samples is an important contribution to the field. Their stronger claim that “WEIRD subjects are particularly unusual” is less convincing, however. We argue that WEIRD people's apparent distinct weirdness is a methodological side-effect of psychology's over-reliance on WEIRD populations for developing its methods and theoretical constructs.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 33 , Issue 2-3 , June 2010 , pp. 85 - 86
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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References

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