What is Ethnocentrism?

When do we become through encouragement of its peaceful

ethnocentric and what is our way out? evolution.

Goal: Explain the nature of ethnocentrism in attaining When do we become ethnocentric and what is our way
cultural understanding. out? Take note of the following:

Ethnocentrism- the word ‘ethno’ is a Greek word that
refers to people, nation and cultural groupings. ‘Centric’
on the order hand is a Latin word which refers to center.
A term was coined by William Graham Summer.
 It refers to the tendency of each society to
place its own patterns at the center of things,
 The practice of comparing other cultural
practices with those of ones’ own and
automatically finding those other cultural
practices to be inferior.
 In other words, it is an act of evaluating other
cultures according to preconceptions
originating in the standards and customs of
one’s own culture.
 Ex. Belief in superiority of the white race,
extreme Japanese nationalism, the Philippines
as Pearl of the Orient Sea
 Ex. The popular belief among American
ethnocentric people is that their culture,
values, development, and everything else is
superior to every other nation in the world, and
that every other nation is inferior to the United
States.
 Ex. For instance, an employee, may refer to his
client as a ‘moron’ if the client needed some
time to understand whatever the employee
was trying to tell him.
 Ex. Any time you think of another culture’s
traditional food as weird or gross.
1. When you judge the behavior and beliefs of
people who are different from you.
Way out: To stop ethnocentric behavior, you
must stop judging others who are different from
you.
2. When you believe that there are primitive
cultures, especially if their way of life is
different from yours.
Way out: Ethnocentrism is taught. You must
unlearn that your culture is superior, and all
other cultures are inferior.
3. When you believe that some cultures are
backward if the lack the technology and
consumerism of your own culture.
Way out: Remember that there are no primitive
or backward culture. All culture provides their
members with the means for meeting all human
needs.
While ethnocentric view is not necessarily intended,
they have led to major human disasters throughout
history causing bullying, discrimination, intolerance,
war, and genocide.

Functions of ethnocentrism

The function of ethnocentrism in maintaining and more

apparent than those promotes social change.

 First, ethnocentrism encourages the solidarity of

group. Believing that one’s own ways are the
best encourages that “we” feeling with
associates and strengthens the idea that loyalty
to comrades and the preservation of the basis
of superiority are important values. Positively,
ethnocentrism promotes continuance of the
status quo. Negatively, it discourages changes.
 Second, ethnocentrism hinders the
understanding of the cooperation between
groups. If the ways of one’s own group are best,
there is a little incentive to interact with
“inferior” groups. In fact, attitudes of suspicion,
disdain and hostility are likely to be engendered.
Extreme ethnocentrism is likely to promote
conflict, as the record of past wars and religious
and racial conflicts reveal.
 Third, conflict of course often leads to social
change. In that sense, ethnocentrism becomes
the vehicle of social change. It does so, however
CULTURAL RELATIVISM CULTURE SHOCK/ THIRD CULTURE SHOCK

Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a culture
on its own terms and not to make judgments using the
standards of one's own culture.
❖ The goal of this is to promote understanding of
cultural practices that are not typically part of one's own
culture.
❖ Cultural Relativism is important to anthropology and
one of the things that makes anthropology unique
because it is a tool, a method for attempting to see
things from a multiplicity of viewpoints so as to better
understand them.
❖ Cultural Relativism does not mean that anything a
culture does is good or moral. This is one of the ones
that confuse people.
❖ Cultural relativism teaches us that, marriage patterns
are cultural options, not objective truth.
❖ Cultural Relativism doesn’t mean that cultures can’t
be compared. There is sometimes a strange notion that
there are no commonalities between cultures.
❖ This is one of the reasons why those trained in
cultural anthropology are often great problem solvers
for complex issues.
Cultural Relativism- is the idea that norms, belief, and
values are dependent on their cultural context and
should be treated as such. The concept of cultural
relativism states that cultures differ, so that a cultural
trait, act, or idea has no meaning or function by itself
but has a meaning only within its cultural setting.
CULTURE SHOCK- it refers to the feeling of disbelief,
disorganization and frustration of one’s experience
when he encounters cultural pattern or practices which
is different from his. He becomes so accustomed to his
cultural milieu that he finds himself disgusted,
unsettled, troubled and disoriented when he enters
another society with a different culture.
Example
1. When typical religious person enters a nudist
camp, he may experience show and show
disbelief.
2. Communication problems such as not being
understood, unusual foods, different attitudes
and customs; these things may start to irritate
you.
THIRD CULTURE SHOCK- is a good example of
enculturation (gradual acquisition of characteristics or
culture). Individuals who stayed for quite a good portion
of their lives (especially the period after the formative
years, between 0-8 years old) in foreign culture may be
shocked by their birth culture once expose to it again.
The shock created by their birth culture is a product of
their enculturation in the second culture.
Third culture- is the mixed identity that a child assumes,
influenced both by their parents’ culture and the culture
in which they are raised.
Ex. Gina forgot how to eat balut after living in America
for 15 years.

Ex. Marriage is monogamy among the Christian but

polygamy among the Muslims. Polygamy is considered
immoral and sinful among the Christians but moral and
appropriate among the Muslims.

Indeed, it promotes greater appreciation of the cultures

one encountered along the way. How?

1. Reading about the practices and rituals of other

cultures
2. May take place because of traveling or
immigration.

Difference Between Ethnocentrism and Cultural

Relativism

Ethnocentrism

1. Intolerance of cultural features

2. Extreme form of supremacy
3. Insensitive to other cultures

Cultural Relativism

1. Tolerance of cultural features

2. Allows propagation of certain practices of basic
human rights
3. Shows show high cultural sensitivity