Weirdness is in the eye of the beholder.
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.
Bennis
Will M
WM
Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. wbennis@northwestern.edu
Medin
Douglas L
DL
D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D006801:Humans; D044382:Population Groups; D012107:Research Design