Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the term used to describe the phenomenon of people from a certain group seeing all other groups in comparison to their own as the ideal. Ethnos is the Greek word for “nation,” so ethnocentrism literally means nation-centered. Ethnicity itself is a word that is broad enough to include any number of features that differentiate a group, such as ancestry, language, religion, culture, or geographic proximity. Ethnocentrism should not be confused with nationalism or patriotism (loyalty and pride in one's nation). Instead, ethnocentrism usually is used negatively in the social sciences.

Because anthropology is the study of human development, those undertaking the study are vulnerable to unfairly comparing other groups to their own. It is impossible, however, to step completely outside of one's own perspective, and the ethnocentric view is not always a distinction of superiority. National holidays in the United States, for example, were based upon Christian ideologies for many years, perhaps not intentionally to neglect other religions such as Judaism, Islam, or Hinduism, but rather based on the assumption that the majority of citizens were Christian. Sometimes certain assumptions are imposed concerning the behavior of other groups. Americans may question the Spanish or Italian siesta when businesses close mid-afternoon for a break after lunch, thinking this a prime time to be working and keeping shops open. Europeans likewise may question the average 2-week American vacation (compared to nearly a month for many European countries),wondering if Americans prefer to be earning money rather than spending quality time at home with their families. Language and concepts that incorporate knowledge are also influenced by culture-specific ideas. What one group identifies as “blue” or “love” might mean different things to members of different groups. Through recognizing that one's observations about the world begin from within a particular cultural position, the anthropologist can gain a better understanding of both one's own and other cultures.

The attitude characterized by ethnocentrism is probably as old as human civilization; traditionally, other cultures were seen as people to be conquered or demonized, often for differences of religion. It was not until the 20th century that anthropology began to integrate the concept into theory and methodological practice, however. In his 1906 book Folkways, William Graham Sumner first used the word “ethnocentrism” to explain the way of seeing the world as surrounding one's own group, which is in the center. As humans observe others humans, groups of people are seen as either “us” or “them.” Studies of one's own people, also called the “in-group,” are informed by the researcher's personal experiences and understanding of cultural values. Studies of other people, or the “out-group,” automatically place the observer outside of the culture being observed. Despite intentions to collect fact-based data, the “affectivity in cognition” theory suggests it is difficult, if not impossible, to completely step aside from one's vantage point. When data are analyzed with the assumption that one's home culture is superior, the study is tainted with a sort of collective egoism, and that attitude is what we call ethnocentrism.

Ethnocentrism is one of several subclasses of sociocentrism, which, as the name implies, is a central focus around one's own society. Other subclasses include nationalism, class sociocentrism, and specific heritage-focused attitudes like Eurocentrism or Afrocentrism. All of these positions feature two major elements. There is positive valorization, or the presumption of an especially high value on the accomplishments of the in-group. There is also the perspective of evaluating the out-group by comparing those values to one's own. Whatever is praised, or positive, within the in-group is considered to be the normal way of behaving. Whatever is criticized, or negative, is seen as an exception to the norm. An ethnocentric observer will compare the out-group to the norms and exceptions already determined for the in-group. If the observer sees no difference, then the out-group is considered to be identical to the in-group. If differences are noted, they are weighed according to positive and negative assumptions. When the out-group positively values something determined to be negative in the in-group, or the out-group negatively values something determined to be positive in the in-group, the ethnocentric member of the in-group considers the out-group to be developmentally inferior.

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