Unraveling the Enigma: Why Ethnocentrism Distorts Perceptions of Cultural Diversity

why do ethnocentric people tend to view other cultures as abnormal?

Unraveling the Enigma: Why Ethnocentrism Distorts Perceptions of Cultural Diversity

Ethnocentrism is the idea that one’s personal tradition is superior to all others. It’s a widespread human tendency to view the world by way of the lens of our personal tradition, and to evaluate different cultures based mostly on our personal values and beliefs. This will result in ethnocentric individuals viewing different cultures as irregular, unusual, and even inferior.

There are a lot of the reason why ethnocentric individuals are likely to view different cultures as irregular. One motive is that they could be unaware of the totally different cultural norms and values that exist world wide. They might not understand that what is taken into account regular in a single tradition could also be thought of irregular in one other. For instance, in some cultures it’s thought of well mannered to eat along with your arms, whereas in different cultures it’s thought of impolite. An ethnocentric individual is probably not conscious of this distinction, and should due to this fact view somebody who eats with their arms as being irregular.

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