Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre

"We Are All Ethnocentric - Origins, Features,
Results and Treatments For A Necessary Human Condition"

Summary by Lillian McClanaghan

Professor Michael Harris Bond's presentation provides a definition of ethnocentrism and its implications in cross-cultural interactions. He begins by drawing from his Baha'i background to illustrate our common humanity and the degree to which we are inter-related. He introduces two approaches that psychologists use to explain ethnocentrism: terror management theory and evolutionary theory. He discusses general determinants of ethnocentrism and some societal, organizational and interpersonal interventions.

INTRODUCTION

To illustrate a growing consciousness and concern about our common humanity, Professor Bond quotes a Baha'i writing, "Ye are the leaves of one tree and the fruits of one branch". Bond cites newspaper reports of natural disasters, acts of barbarism, and savagery which appear to reinforce the following quote from the Baha'i Proclamation on World Peace: "doubts, misconceptions, prejudices, suspicions, and narrow self-interest beset nations and peoples in their relations to one another." He further quotes that "The Baha'i faith regards the current world confusion and calamitous condition in human affairs as a natural phase in an organic process, leading ultimately and irresistibly to the unification of the human race in a single social order whose boundaries are those of the planet."

Bond acknowledges that not everyone may be as optimistic, but as a social scientist he approaches these challenges by trying to understand "some of the issues, the processes which lead people to hate, to destroy otherness and difference or to appreciate and embrace difference". In order to cope positively with the questions of how we can educate people, structure organizations, create legal institutions, manage national policy, conduct international relations to reduce some of the "efflorescence of this ugliness" and to create more unity in diversity, Bond draws from some of his work on ethnocentrism.

Definition of Ethnocentrism: Bond defines ethnocentrism as "the feeling that one's group has a mode of living, values and patterns of adaptation that are superior to all others." It's also coupled with a generalized contempt for members of other groups. Sumner, in 1904 defined ethnocentrism as "the view of things in which one's own group is the centre of everything and all others are scaled and rated, in reference to one's group. Each group thinks that its own folkways are the only right ones. And if it observes that other people have other folkways, these excite its scorn." Ethnocentrism may manifest itself in behaviour such as warfare, attitudes of superiority, hostility, violence, discrimination, proselytization, and verbal aggression.

Bond uses Piaget's model on child development as a parallel for ethnocentrism. In Piaget's theory the child believes that he is the center of the universe until he learns to "de-center", i.e., he realizes that the world can be constructed from a number of different perspectives. Similarly, Bond queries whether the requirements of cross-cultural contact promote a similar "de-centering", i.e., does cross-cultural contact force us out of our egocentrism? The answer is that cross-cultural contact may force us out of our ethnocentrism but probably it will not.

He points out that there are many forms of cross-cultural interaction that do not involve "de centering" or cultural re-learning. He borrows a Chinese proverb: "You cut the other person's toes to fit your shoe" to illustrate the "colonial" model for cross-cultural contact whereby one party exercises an advantage over another in terms of superior knowledge, resources, weapons, etc. Even as we move to a more "egalitarian" model which presupposes a spirit of open-mindedness and generosity, people may still feel neglected, insulted, ignored and rejected in cross-cultural interactions.

ORIGINS OF ETHNOCENTRISM

Psychologists use the following theories to try to explain ethnocentrism:

Terror Management Theory: This theory maintains that there are two distinctive features of our human condition: an awareness of our own mortality and an awareness of our everyday vulnerability. These awarenesses create in us a state of terror or anxiety. We try to manage this terror by "embracing a cultural script....by taking on an ideology, a view of life, a way of living, a set of beliefs which promise directly or symbolically, a kind of transcendence of death, a way to escape our own mortality."

This cultural script provides religious and or mythic frames of meaning that allow us to transcend the despair that arises from an awareness of our own mortality. Self-esteem in this theory is defined as that way in which each of us attempts to meet the requirements of the cultural script. If we are successful, we feel good. If we are not, we feel depressed.

Bond discusses what happens when we make contact with people whose beliefs and cultural tradition challenge our own perspective. He quotes: "the mere existence of different others is inherently threatening because they either implicitly or explicitly challenge the absolute validity of one's own perspective". According to this analysis, prejudice is a psychological inability to tolerate the existence of different others and results from a need to maintain absolute faith in one's own cultural world view.

The conclusion is that we are all ethnocentric to varying degrees because "we are born into a culture at birth and we cling to that culture as a bulwark against chaos and the terror of death."

Evolutionary Theory: Evolutionary theory posits that we all belong to bands or clans in order to survive in a hostile environment. In exchange for food and comfort, security and protection we gave loyalty, service and defence to our band. Bond quotes Brewster Smith who states that we possess "a readiness to form groups and to favour the groups we belong to." It is also likely that natural selection not only enhanced the individual's identification with his group but also reinforced either the real or perceived superiority of the group. This perceived superiority of one's own group is a basic component of ethnocentrism. Thus, our sociability as well as our ethnocentrism may have an evolutionary biological base.

Measuring Ethnocentrism: Psychologists measure ethnocentrism by: 1) assessing interpersonal attitudes or attraction towards typical group members, e.g. an immigrant from Hong Kong, a "white" Canadian, etc., 2) measuring favourability ratings where people are asked to rate others from different ethnic groups, 3) measuring behavioural intentions, i.e., the likelihood of a certain behaviour, either associative or dissociative and 4) measuring social distance, i.e., patterns of association among and across people of different cultural groups.

Within the context of how Hong Kong people will respond to the "major actors" who will have a role in determining Hong Kong's future, Dr. Bond shares results from his recent study on Hong Kong Chinese high school students and their attraction towards other cultural groups. Students were asked to rate their attraction towards nine categories of people ("ideal" Chinese, "traditional" Chinese, Hong Kong persons, Guangzhou persons, Beijing persons, Taiwan persons, Singapore persons, American-born Chinese, and Westerners). The rating of scores (higher scores meaning greater attraction towards that particular group) resulted in the "ideal" Chinese being ranked the highest. Next were gradations of attraction ranging from a fairly high score for Westerners and for people from one's own group to a low score for Guangzhou people.

Dr. Bond looked at two predictor variables to explain the students' responses. He examined students' beliefs about other groups in terms of a) their imputed values, i.e., self-transcendence or values of universalism and benevolence towards others and b) their imputed degree of political liberalism. He found that these two variables explained 48% of the variance in interpersonal attraction towards people from other groups. Dr. Bond believes that the results from his research are representative of situations in other countries.

GENERAL DETERMINANTS OF ETHNOCENTRISM

Cultural Factors: Research done on Chinese values show that cultural differences influence people's willingness to endorse values that favour either social integration or cultural isolation. Countries that emphasize a sense of superiority, uniqueness and cultural traditions are more likely to deny human rights to people from other cultural traditions.

Political Factors: Many believe that immigrants are more welcome in democratic countries because their vote is being wooed. In Canada for example, due to an economic recession and the perception that immigrants are exploiting the welcome mat, the tide may be moving in the other direction, however. This rejection is mitigated by its multicultural policies.

Economic Factors: Economic factors such as unemployment also drive ethnocentrism. For example, it was discovered that in the U.S. the number of lynchings of Southern blacks could be correlated to the price of cotton over a fifty-year period. The lower the price of cotton, the higher the number of lynchings; the higher the price of cotton the fewer the number of lynchings. Other indicators such as the kind of media coverage given to immigrants in terms of themes and language can be tracked to determine whether immigrants are rejected as a function of the economic situation.

Historical Factors: Immigrant societies are much less ethnocentric than mono-cultural societies. Factors such as the belief that one's honour depends upon repaying an injustice committed against one's self, family and friends in addition to beliefs about the "out" group and its tolerance and fairness can all contribute to ethnocentrism.

Social Factors: Some social factors that influence ethnocentrism are activeness and passivity of the "out" group in pursuing its goal for equal rights in society. According to Bob Altmeyer who has done work on right wing authoritarianism, passive persistence is a more effective policy than active resistance. Other factors include group security in the ethnic hierarchy, intermarriage, social mobility, and numerical and physical distinctiveness of the "out" group.

Psychological Factors: It was found that a high openness to experience (one of the basic five personality dimensions) is correlated with low ethnocentrism. People's beliefs about the desirability for intercultural contact can also be measured. Another factor influencing cross-cultural contact is whether people use a typical Western zero-sum or an alternative minus sum approach to conflict.

Nationalism Factor: Feshback's research at UCLA shows that it is possible to distinguish nationalism from internationalism. He notes that there are three identifiable components. Two of them he terms "nationalism" (a sense of superiority of one's own culture over other cultures) and the other he terms "patriotism" (an appreciation of one's own cultural background without invidious comparison to other cultural groups). Feshback argues that it is possible to be nationalistic without being patriotic and vice versa.

INTERVENTIONS TO ETHNOCENTRISM

a) Knowledge: Provide meanings of behaviour and use cultural assimilators to teach people about others.

b) Guided practice: Provide knowledge on what to do when a compliment is declined, how to serve others, and how to apologize profusely. We can practise doing culturally difficult things.

c) Mentorship: Companies that send an employee overseas can hire a mentor from the receiving culture to educate him about the other group's cultural realities.

d) Intermarriage: Intermarriage can lessen our ethnocentric tendencies.

e) Language Acquisition: Acquire another language. This provides an avenue to people of that culture. It also functions as a social signal of our willingness to accommodate to people of the other group.

f) Cooperation: Participate in joint ventures with other cultural groups. This promotes diversity and unity within diversity.

g) Organizational, social and political support: Work for organizations that not only honour other cultural traditions but also implement policies for multicultural representation in the workforce.

h) Media coverage: Demonstrate the advantages that accrue with respect to diversity issues. Question whether the media promotes cross-cultural diversity and whether it provides information on synergy.

i) Research: Encourage research that publicizes the advantages of synergy.

j) Education: Design educational curricula so that it reflects the goals as expressed by Paul Kennedy in his book, Preparing for the 21st Century. He states that education "means more than technical re-tooling of the work force. It's not just more polytechnics or the emergence of professional classes or even the encouragement of a manufacturing culture in the schools and colleges in order to preserve a productive base. Education in a larger sense also implies a deep understanding of why our world is changing, of how other people and other cultures feel about those changes, of what all have in common as well as what divides cultures, classes and nations. Because we are all members of a world citizenry, we also need to equip ourselves with a system of ethics, a sense of fairness and a sense of proportion as we consider the various ways either collectively or individually how to better prepare for the 21st century."

Dr. Bond concluded his remarks on the challenge of preparing for the 21st century by quoting an African proverb: "We do not inherit the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children". Let us return the earth in better shape than we received it!

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