Understanding Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism Ethnocentrism is the tendency of people to put their own culture at the...

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Psychology

Understanding Ethnocentrism and CulturalRelativism
Ethnocentrism is the tendency of people to puttheir own culture at the center, and to use their culturalstandards to judge the behavior and beliefs of people of differentcultures. People who are ethnocentric believe their culturalbeliefs are morally correct and others are morally questionable.They often become so deeply engrossed in their culture that othercultures and the people in them become unimportant. To some degreeall people are ethnocentric. It is a natural tendency for each ofus to believe that our cultural beliefs are the best. However,ethnocentrism prevents us from becoming culturally competent andresponsive to others who share differing cultural beliefs,traditions, practices, and affiliations.
The opposite of ethnocentrism is CulturalRelativism. Cultural relativism is the view that thebehavior in one culture should not be judged by the standards ofanother. The goal of cultural relativism is to be objective andsensitive to diverse cultures without ignoring internationalstandards of justice and morality (Kottak & Kozaitis, 2002).The key to eliminating ethnocentrism is to first acknowledge thatone is ethnocentric. Becoming more culturally relative can beachieved by recognizing the attitudes and beliefs related toethnocentrism and then working to dispel them.
Please answer the following questions and post your answers toBlackboard.
1. How does ethnocentrism develop?
2. Did you recognize your own ethnocentric beliefs andattitudes?
3. Do people within the same culture always share the sameattitudes and beliefs? If yes, why? If no why not? â€¢ Is anyoneculture really better than another?
4. Are there any dangers to ethnocentric attitudes in a worldthat is becoming more diverse? If yes, what are the dangers?
5. How can ethnocentric beliefs and attitudes become moreculturally relative?
6. What are things you can do in your life today to become moreculturally relative?
7. Do you think your family and friends might resist yourbecoming more culturally relative, if yes, why? If no, why not?

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1 It is widely assumed that Sumner coined the concept of ethnocentrism in 1906 This attribution is prominent in psychology and the social sciences and is found in major works on ethnocentrism intergroup relations and prejudice A review of classic sources written in German Polish and English shows that the concept had existed in numerous publications for at least several decades before Sumners writings on ethnocentrism This article presents early conceptualizations of ethnocentrism and potential influences on Sumner It also discusses implications of this conceptual history such as biases that may have contributed to the widespread belief that Sumner coined the concept It is argued that psychologists and other social scientists should stop attributing the origin of the concept to Sumner despite his important role in popularizing it and in general should engage more with their intellectual history in different languages Ethnocentrism is a major factor in the divisions among members of different ethnicities races and religious groups Its the belief that ones ethnic group is superior to another Ethnocentric individuals believe theyre better than other individuals for reasons based solely on their heritage 2Yes we can as it is a natural tendency for each of us to believe that our cultural beliefs are the best However ethnocentrism prevents us from becoming culturally competent and responsive to others who share differing cultural beliefs traditions practices and affiliationsTo some See Answer

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