1. Ethnocentrism and Ethnorelativism

2. What is Ethnocentrism?
Viewing other cultures and making judgments based on what is normal in your own experience and culture.
This makes an assumption that one’s own culture is superior to others.
Someone with an ethnocentric view might describe a practice from another culture as “weird” or “wrong” because they are using their own frame of reference (what they think is normal) to judge something they are not familiar with.

3. An Ethnocentric view
Example: In France they drive on “the wrong side” of the road.
In Ireland cars are driven on the left-hand side. In most of Europe, cars are driven on the right-hand side. Someone viewing this practice from an Irish ethnocentric view may consider this “wrong” because it is different to the custom in their experience in Ireland.

4. Ethnocentrism
How does this image explain ethnocentrism? Both characters are making judgments about the culture of the other based on what they themselves consider normal.
What is considered normal is related to our shared cultural and individual values.
THINK PAIR SHARE: What are the shared cultural values in your school/ local community/ country? In other words, what kinds of things do you take for granted that might not be “normal” in other cultures?
Think about food, behaviour, clothes, customs and practices.
For example:
In Educate Together schools students and teachers call each other by their first names, it is not normal to refer to someone by a title or their second name but this is not the same for all schools. Similarly, most Educate Together schools don’t have uniforms. Both of these are reflections of the democratic and equality based principles of Educate Together, underlining the values of equality and democracy.
In some cultures, food is eaten with different instruments: hands, cutlery, chopsticks. Even the way people use these instruments can differ from culture to culture with people using forks or spoons more regularly or for specific foods.
What other examples can you think of?

5. What is Ethnorelativism (or cultural relativism)?
Considering cultural practices as relative to context rather than imposing our own frame of reference (judging based on our experience).
Someone with an ethnorelative view will try and think about a cultural practice from the perspective of the culture in question rather than judging based on their own experience.

6. An Ethnorelative view
Example: In Arabic the writing is different to English and other European languages as you read from right to left.
Rather than viewing writing from right to left as “wrong” the person views it simply as different. They recognise that their own culture is one of many cultures with different practices and traditions.

7. Ethnocentric Vs. Ethnorelative
Judging other cultures using your own experience as a measure of what is normal.
Anything outside of your experience or knowledge is judged abnormal, weird or wrong.
Considering other cultures and practices relative to the context.
Not imposing a judgement based on the experience and knowledge of your culture.

8. Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism
Culture can be related to food, religions, celebrations, clothes, behaviour, values, language, customs, traditions…
Can you think of other examples where people might view practices from another culture as “wrong” or “weird”?

9. Where do we see this in practice?
Have you ever noticed that travel guide books often have information about cultural practices and behaviour that is considered disrespectful?
This information is provided to develop awareness about different practices and beliefs, in other words to help people develop intercultural competence.

10. What is intercultural competence?
Intercultural competence is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with people of other cultures.
Test your intercultural competencies!

11. Milton Bennett’s Model of Intercultural Sensitivity
The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) was created by Dr. Milton Bennett (1986, 1993, 2004, 2013) as a framework to explain how people experience and engage cultural difference. The DMIS is grounded theory; it is based on observations he made in both academic and corporate settings about how people become more competent intercultural communicators. Using concepts from constructivist psychology and communication theory, he organized these observations into positions along a continuum of increasing sensitivity to cultural difference.
More info:
The underlying assumption of the model is that as one learns and understands more about the differences between culture, their attitude to and experience of different cultures develops and becomes more nuanced and sophisticated. With experience people may move along the spectrum and their ability to engage in respectful intercultural communication is enhanced. For example they may adapt their behaviour to suit the norms of a particular cultural setting eg. Wearing appropriate clothing when visiting a religious site- Covering shoulders in Christian churches.

12. What’s the idea?
Based on Bennett’s research the model attempts to explain different stances people can inhabit on a spectrum from an ethnocentric viewpoint to an ethnorelative one.
With experience and knowledge of cultural differences, people may move along the spectrum and their ability to engage in respectful intercultural communication is enhanced. They will improve their intercultural competence.

13. Denial
Denial of cultural difference indicates an experience in which cultural difference is not perceived at all, or it is perceived only in very broad categories such as "foreigner" or "minority." The constructs available for perceiving one's own culture are far more complex than those available for other cultures. Individuals experience psychological and/or physical isolation from cultural difference.
People are disinterested or perhaps even hostilely dismissive of intercultural communication.

14. Defense
Defense against cultural difference indicates an experience in which cultural difference is perceived in stereotyped and polarized ways. Cultures are organized into "us and them," where typically the "us" is superior and the "them" is inferior.
People at Defense are threatened by cultural difference, so they tend to be highly critical of other cultures and apt to blame cultural difference for general ills of society.

15. Reversal
Reversal, one's own culture is heavily criticized, while other cultures are perceived in relatively non-critical, romanticized ways. The intercultural worldview is still polarized, but the poles are reversed.
People at defense view other cultures as better than their own.

16. Minimization
Minimization of cultural difference indicates an experience in which elements of one's own cultural worldview are perceived as universal.
People assume that their own physical or psychological experiences are shared by people in all cultures, and/or that certain basic values and beliefs transcend cultural boundaries.
The stressing of cross-cultural similarity reduces Defense, so people here are much more tolerant of superficial cultural diversity.
However, Minimization obscures deep cultural differences, including the masking of dominant culture privilege by a false assumption of equal opportunity ie. The assumption is made that everyone has the same opportunity to access resources like schools or jobs even though this may not be the case as a result of cultural difference eg. having a different religion

17. Acceptance
Acceptance of cultural difference indicates an experience in which one's own culture is experienced as just one of a number of equally complex worldviews. Acceptance does not mean agreement - cultural difference may be judged negatively - but the judgment is not ethnocentric.
People at Acceptance are curious about and respectful toward cultural difference, but their knowledge of other cultures does not yet allow them to easily adapt their behavior to different cultural contexts.
Acceptance does not mean agreement - cultural difference may be judged negatively - but the judgment is not ethnocentric.
This is an important point. You can have an ethnorelative viewpoint and still judge something from another culture as wrong as long as that judgment is not based solely on the norms and practices of your own culture. For example: if you were looking at a culture that allows the death penalty for some crimes. You could make a judgment that this is wrong not because this is considered wrong in your culture but because according to the Declaration of Human Rights and organisations like the United Nations, this is wrong.
When considering anything covered by the Declaration for Human Rights judgments can be made by referring to this. These are things that are considered moral rights. What do you think? Can you say that something is 100% right or wrong?

18. Adaptation
Adaptation to cultural difference indicates the experience of generating appropriate alternative behavior in a different cultural context. Adaptation involves intercultural empathy, or experiencing the world to some extent "as if" one were participating in the different culture. This imaginative participation generates "feelings of appropriateness" that guide the generation of authentic behavior in the alternative culture.
People at adaptation can enact their intercultural sensitivity as intercultural communication competence.

19. Integration
Integration of cultural difference indicates an experience of self that is expanded to include the movement in and out of different cultural worldviews.
People with a predominant Integration position often are dealing with issues related to their own "cultural liminality," or in-betweeness. This liminality can be used to construct cultural bridges and to conduct sophisticated cross-cultural mediation.

20. What do you think of this model?
This model was created based on a grounded theory approach. This means that Milton Bennett did research observing people and how they interacted in various environments. After collecting this information he analysed it to see if there were any common themes. Based on this analysis he formed the intercultural model or theory.
Grounded theory is different to other approaches because usually people start with a theory, do research and then see if the information they collected fits the theory. Grounded theory starts with collecting the information and then formulating a theory based on this information. There are lots of arguments about whether this is a good way to conduct research. Do you think the theory makes sense?