Cultural Attitudes

By: Riana Permatasari, M.A., M.Pd.

Points addressed

1 Definition of Cultural Attitudes

2 Characteristics of Attitudes

3 Stereotypes

4 Ethnocetrism

5 Descriptive Observation
What is a cultural attitude?

A cultural attitude is a judgment about

objects, events, and people based on
one’s cultural perspectives that
influence the way one behaves
(Kameo, 2007).
The characteristics of attitudes

Attitudes are favorable or

direction unfavorable, for or against.

Attitudes can be strong,

degree moderate, mild, or weak, and
any variations in between.

Attitudes are relatively enduring. They

endurance can and do change but it depends on
the degree to which they are held.
 Stereotyped interpretations of
Indonesians
• Indonesians don’t walk, they stroll slowly in groups that block the way from
anybody behind them (Australian).
• Indonesians can’t do anything alone. They aren’t brave enough to do
anything by themselves. They have to have a friend wherever they go
(American).
• Indonesians even eat rice for breakfast. I would rather eat snakes than rice
for breakfast (Canadian).
• Indonesians cannot take criticism. When you criticize what an Indonesian
does, he takes it personally and thinks you are criticizing him as a person
(British).
• Indonesians can’t experiment and try new food. McDonalds must serve rice
or they won’t it eat (Japanese).
• Indonesians think every Westerner is rich and looking for sex (Dutch).
• Indonesians aren’t taught to be self-reliant. They are babied by their families
so much that most of them still live with their parents after they have a job of
their own (German).
 What is ethnocentrism?
• Ethnocentrism is “as the view of things in which
one’s own group is the center of everything, and
all others are scaled and rated with reference
to it,” (Sumner, 1906).
• “An ethnocentric individual clearly pictures one’s
own group as favorably in-group and therefore as
main reference point, contrary to all other individuals
that are viewed as unfavorably out-group,” (Shimp &
Sharma,1987).
• “Ethnocentrism is the view that one’s own culture is
better than all others,” (Al-Issa, 2013).
What are the characteristics of
ethnocentrism?

1 2 3 4

Feeling One’s group Use one’s The center

superior is favorably culture as of
in group reference in everything
judging other
cultures
The positive effect of
ethnocentrism
Having a strong pride and faith in
individual, cultural, country or ethnic
group (Farooq, 2013).
The negative effects of
ethnocentrism

Egocentrism

Negative
influence
in
communi- Exclusivity
cation

Source: Neuliep, Hintz,

and McCroskey (2005),
Zikargae (2013)
If everyone thinks that their
culture is superior than others,
what should we do to get along
together and minimize any
conflicts?
The answer is..
Making descriptive observations

• Descriptive: Many children in the US move

away from their parents at about age
eighteen or nineteen. (Objective
description).
• Many children in the US don’t like their
parents, so they move away at age of
eighteen or nineteen. (Negative and
judgmental)
Thank You!