Eurocentrism

Eurocentrism is defined as judging the experiences of non-European-descended individuals (i.e., African Americans, Latinos/as) against a European American standard. Eurocentrism often leads to negative attitudes and beliefs about groups of people and can confirm mainstream stereotypes about non-European group members. In essence, a Eurocentric belief system assumes that European American culture (i.e., Western culture) is the norm and should be viewed as the standard against which other cultures are judged. Both implicit and explicit Eurocentrism serve as a basis for prejudice. Though Eurocentrism has significant implications for mental health and psychology, little research exists on the subject.

The Eurocentric worldview is based on Western values and characteristics such as individualism, competitiveness, dualistic thinking, a belief in control over nature, hierarchical decision-making processes, standard English, a rigid time orientation, Judeo-Christian beliefs, patriarchy, the Protestant work ethic, future orientation, “objective/rational” thought, property ownership, and nuclear family structure. When one expects others, regardless of their cultural background, to behave in ways that reflect these values, deviations are pathologized and often serve as the basis of some form of group-based oppression. Eurocentrism, in the context of U.S. society, as well as other multicultural societies, is harmful in that non-Western cultural values (e.g., collectivism, living within an extended family system) are viewed, at best, as novel and, at worst, “deficient” in relation to European American cultural values. Viewing the experiences of others from a Eurocentric perspective may lead to exclusion, marginalization, and discrimination when individuals do not possess and display traits valued within European American culture. Eurocentrism can occur at individual, cultural, and institutional levels and can be manifested in overt and covert ways.