Ethnocentrism << `ehth` noh SEHN trihz uhm >> is the belief that one’s own culture is the best and most natural. William Graham Sumner, an American sociologist, introduced the term in 1906. He defined it as “the tendency to view one’s own group as the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it.”
As a result of growing up within a culture, people come to view their society’s ways as the normal and proper ways of thinking, feeling, and acting. Because of this, ethnocentrism probably cannot be avoided. It gives people a sense of belonging and pride, and a willingness to sacrifice for the good of the group. But ethnocentrism is harmful if carried to extremes. It may cause prejudice, automatic rejection of ideas from other cultures, and even persecution of other groups. Exposure to other cultures may lessen such reactions, but they can never be completely overcome.
Many social scientists consider ethnocentrism a problem in their work. A researcher’s observations should be impartial. However, a tendency to judge other people by the standards of one’s own group may distort these observations.
See also Ethnic group; Minority group; Racism.
