Bard Kim A, Keller Heidi, Leavens David A
Sponsored Affiliate, University of Michigan.
Professor em. Department of Human Sciences, Osnabrück University.
Behav Brain Sci. 2025 May 23:1-60. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X25000044.
Most scientists are aware that developmental databases derive primarily from Western, middle-class samples, but fewer are cognizant that developmental theories can be similarly biased. There is urgency in revising developmental theories, both scientifically (embracing diversity is essential to the study of human psychology) and applied (it is damaging to apply WEIRD standards/methods/theories to evaluate development in the multitude of non-WEIRD contexts).We evaluate the extent to which two prominent developmental theories are inclusive. We find that Shared Intentionality Theory is based on a WEIRD bias in the foundational databases: the core constructs lack culturally diverse data, undermining claims that this theory explains human-general social cognition. In Attachment Theory, we illuminate the lack of inclusivity in the core assumptions and resulting claims of the meaning and measure of the attachment system: this theory excludes cultural diversity in social-emotional constructs focused on communal orientations (e.g., interdependence, attachment networks) found in many people of the Global South, and neglects culture-specific adaptive behavior patterns.Acknowledging the lack of inclusivity at the level of theory is necessary. We urge researchers to take a more WILD approach: obtain orldwide samples, study development n situ, focus on ocal cultural practices and ethnotheories, and consider development as iverse. Being WILD entails attending to inclusivity during the entire research process, from framing the research questions to interpreting the data (e.g., respecting all adaptive behaviors in development). Five Steps for Increasing Inclusivity can be used as a practical guide to decenter psychological theories from their current WEIRD mindset.
大多数科学家都意识到，发展数据库主要来源于西方中产阶级样本，但较少有人认识到发展理论也可能存在类似的偏差。修订发展理论刻不容缓，这在科学层面（接纳多样性对于人类心理学研究至关重要）和应用层面（将西方、受过良好教育、工业化、富裕、民主的（WEIRD）标准/方法/理论应用于评估众多非WEIRD背景下的发展是有害的）都是如此。我们评估了两种著名的发展理论的包容程度。我们发现，共享意向性理论在基础数据库中存在西方、受过良好教育、工业化、富裕、民主的（WEIRD）偏差：核心构念缺乏文化多样性数据，这削弱了该理论能够解释人类普遍社会认知的说法。在依恋理论中，我们揭示了核心假设以及由此产生的关于依恋系统的意义和测量的说法缺乏包容性：该理论排除了全球南方许多人所具有的以社区为导向（如相互依存、依恋网络）的社会情感构念中的文化多样性，并且忽视了特定文化的适应性行为模式。认识到理论层面缺乏包容性是必要的。我们敦促研究人员采取更广泛、综合、基于当地、多样化的（WILD）方法：获取全球样本，实地研究发展情况，关注当地文化实践和民族理论，并将发展视为多样化的。采取WILD方法需要在整个研究过程中关注包容性，从构建研究问题到解释数据（例如，尊重发展中的所有适应性行为）。增加包容性的五个步骤可以作为一个实用指南，使心理学理论摆脱当前西方、受过良好教育、工业化、富裕、民主的（WEIRD）思维定式。
