Name: Ayra Mae T.

Pelenio

INTRODUCTION TO CULTURE
ACTIVITY 6

What Have I Learned So Far

1. How can you determine whether one is an ethnocentrist or a cultural relativist?
Ethnocentrist when a person is considered as the normal way that things are done while the
cultural relativist is that the belief of the culture of people serves the particular needs and must
be looked at in terms of the world the people inhabit.

2. What is the difference between ethnocentrism and xenocentrism? Provide example.

The difference between ethnocentrism and xenocentrism, the ethnocentrism refers to the
tendency to see the behaviors, beliefs, values, and norms of one’s own group as the only right
way of living and to judge others by those standards, for example, The countries in Japan,
China, South, and North Korea the way of eating is using a chopstick in every meal while the
other society such as the Filipino or the American the way of eating is using a fork, spoon or
knives since the countries in Japan, China, South, and North Korea use a chopstick to eat every
meal they find it foolish for other cultures to not use utensils similar to chopsticks but they
accept the fact that they use different utensils for eating. While xenocentrism is referred to the
idea that what is foreign is best and that one’s lifestyle, products, or ideas are inferior to those of
others, for example, the idea that cloth to make clothes is much better produced by the other
nations.
3. Give example of universal patterns of culture.
Examples of universal patterns of culture are gender roles, marriage, birth, religious and healing
ritual, language, sports and many more.

4. Why are values important? How do they affect our lives?

Values are important because it helps us to create our future on what we want to experience
and also it helps the individual to grow and develop. They affect our lives by influencing our
decisions related to the career or activities that we engage in. Values is the form of foundation in
our life.
5. Is there a need for the re-orientation of Filipino values? Why or Why not?
For me, yes we need to re-orient the Filipino values because as I observe Filipinos have a good
value like the core values, and also some Filipinos have forgotten their values, especially to the
new generation today.