Ethnocentrism: Culture and United States

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own ethnic culture. The concept of ethnocentrism has proven significant in the social sciences, both with respect to the issue of whether the ethnocentric bias of researchers colors the data they obtain, and the findings from research in anthropology and sociology. Such research has revealed ethnocentrism in every culture around the world, based on a number reasons, including religion, language, customs, culture, and shared history. It seems natural that people feel pride in the culture in which they have grown up and from which they have adopted their values and standards of behavior. However, the problem is that one may view other cultures not only as different, but also as inferior, with a great danger of behaving in ways that are damaging to those from other cultures. However, as increasing globalization brings different cultures together, people are learning to overcome their self-centered thinking and see human society from a broader, more inclusive perspective.
The term ethnocentrism was coined by William Graham Sumner, a social evolutionist and professor of Political and Social Science at Yale University. He defined it as the viewpoint that "one’s own group is the center of everything," against which all other groups are judged. People often feel ethnocentric while experiencing what some call "culture shock" during a stay in a different country. Ethnocentrism, however, is distinguished from xenophobia, the fear of other strangers. Ethnocentrism often entails the belief that one's own race or ethnic group is the most important and/or that some or all aspects of its culture are superior to those of other groups. Within this ideology, individuals judge other groups in relation to their own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behavior, customs, and religion. These ethnic distinctions and sub-divisions serve to define each