Cultural Identity,

1
Lecture 5

• Cultural Identity,
• Ethnocentricism
• and Cultural Relativity

2
Race Ethnicity

• Three true races
• Caucasoid
• Negroid
• Mongoloid
• Thousands of ethnic groups
• Share similar features in language, clothing,
• food, music, etc.
• AND
• Share similar physical features, such as hair,
• face, and body types.

3
Cultural Identity

• Ethnic groups make up our cultural identity.
• Sense of social identification (Who we are and
  why)
• Affects interpersonal relationships and
  expectations.
• social identity leads to personal identity
• More true for collectivistic cultures
• Helps give members continuity and a sense of
  belonging
• Divides people in a negative way

4
Ethnocentrism

• Seeing our own culture as the center of
  everything and evaluating everything according to
  our own groups values
• Our groups way Other groups ways
• Superior Inferior
• Normal Abnormal
• Right Wrong
• Real Unreal
• Hinders our understanding of other cultures and
  their patterns of communication

5
Culture Relativism

• Opposite of Ethnocentrism
• The idea that all cultures are of equal value,
  and the values and behavior of the people of a
  certain culture can only be judged using
• that culture as a basis for judgement.

6
Ethnocentrism - Cultural RelativismContinuum
Moderate Cultural Relativism
Low Ethnocen- trism Low Cultural Relativism
High Cultural Relativism
Moderate Ethnocen- trism
High Ethnocen- trism
7
High Ethnocentrism

• Leads to misperception of other groups
• causing inaccurate interpretations of their
• actions
• Shows an indifference and insensitivity to
• foreigners

8
Moderate Ethnocentrism

• Attempts to avoid or minimize contact with
  members of an out-group.
• Reinforces distance between their group and other
  groups, and lessens the chance of interaction.
• Characterized by intentional use of in-group
  dialect.

9
Low Ethnocentrism Low Cultural Relativism

• A state of feeling in competition with another
  group for the same resources
• Characterized by use of pejorative expressions
  and nicknames for certain groups
• also ethnic jokes.

10
Moderate Cultural Relativism

• Reflects a sensitivity to cultural differences
• Characterized by speech that reflects a
• desire to decrease the communicative
• distance between ones group and members of the
  other group

11
High Cultural Relativism

• Shows desire to minimize distance between oneself
  and members of the out-group
• Requires an attitude of equality
• When interpreting the behavior of the
• members of the out-group, does so by
• using the values of their culture