Group 2

Culture and Society:

Ethnocentrism & Cultural
Relativism

INTRODUCTION
The Complexity of Culture
Culture is a people’s way of life. It prefigures both the processes and structures
that account not only for the development of such a way of life, but also for the
inherent systems that lend it its self-perpetuating nature. The “complex whole”
suggests that culture cannot be simply broken down into a set of attributes. It means
that an understanding of a part can only be achieved (or is only possible) in relation to
the other parts of the system.
The Anatomy of Culture and Society
Anthropology Sociology
The What The How The Why
Refers to the Refers to the Refers to the reasons for compliance and
contents of the processes that the mechanisms that facilitate
culture guarantee the performance
transmission of the
contents
Actions Learned Through socialization/enculturation
Individuals are exposed to and
experience lessons in everyday
interactions.

Language Through conformity

Shared
Actions of individuals are routinized and
institutionalized in contexts like family,
church, schools, and government.
 Attitude Through social control
Conformity, or its absence thereof, is
meted out through the system of
giving rewards and imposing of
punishments.

Communicated

“Culture is the process by which a person becomes all that

they were created capable of being”.

- Thomas Carlyle

There are different ways of defining culture and society. Each definition is
always associated with man’s relationship to his environment. Hence, man’s social
interaction serves as an avenue for creating patterns of behavior that will guide the
members of society to live in an organized and orderly manner.

Culture is a composite or multifarious areas that comprise beliefs, practices,

values, attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that a
person learns and shares as member of society.
Characteristics of Culture
A culture is historically derived system of explicit and implicit designs for living,
which tends to be shared by all or specially designed members of a group. Explicit
culture refers to similarities in words and actions which can be directly observed. For
example, the adolescent cultural behavior can be generalized by looking at the way
teens dress, their mannerisms, and conversation. Implicit culture, on the other hand,
exists in abstract forms which are not quite obvious.
 Culture is a composite or diverse areas that comprise beliefs, practices, values,
attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that a person
learns and shares as a member of society. Therefore, culture is:
1. A product of human interaction
2. A social heritage that is complex and socially transmitted
3. Provides socially acceptable patterns for meeting biological and social
needs
4. A distinguishing factor
5. An established pattern of behavior
6. Cumulative
7. Meaningful to human beings
Types of Culture

Non-material Culture Material Culture

Ideas Technological tools

Behavior, gestures & Food

habit

Religion Fashion & Accessories

Language & Symbols Architectural Structures

Elements of Culture

Knowledge It refers to any information received and perceived to be true.

Beliefs The perception of accepted reality. Reality refers to the existence
of things whether material or non-material.
Social These are established expectations of society as to how a person
Norms is supposed to act depending on the requirements of the time,
place, or situation.

Social norms are very important in understanding the nature of man’s social
relationship. In the social interaction process, each member possesses certain
expectations about the responses and reactions of another member. Hence, it is very
essential to determine the different forms of social norms.
1) Folkways – The patterns of repetitive behavior which becomes
habitual and conventional part of living.
2) Mores – The set of ethical standards and moral obligations as
dictates of reason that distinguishes human acts as right or wrong
or good from bad.
3) Values – Anything held to be relatively worthy, important, desirable,
or valuable.
 4) Technology – The practical application of knowledge in converting
raw materials into finished products.

Aspects of Culture

The study of society is incomplete without proper understanding of the culture

of that society because culture and society go together. Culture is unique possession
of man. Man is born and brought up in a cultural environment. Culture is the unique
quality of man which separates him from the lower animals. Culture includes all that
man acquires in his social life. There are important aspects of culture that contribute
to the development of man’s social interaction.
 Dynamic, flexible, and adaptive
 Shared and contested
 Learned through socialization or enculturation
 Patterned social interactions
 Integrated and at times unstable
 Transmitted through socialization
 Requires language and other forms of communication.

Enculturation and Third Culture Shock

Enculturation refers to the gradual acquisition of the characteristics and norms
of a culture or group by a person, another culture, etc. It starts with actual exposure
to another culture and the duration and extent of exposure account for the quality of
the resulting enculturation.
Third culture shock is a good example of enculturation. Individuals who have
stayed for quite a good portion of their lives (especially the period after the formative
years) in a foreign culture may be shocked by their birth culture once exposed to it
again. The shock created by their birth culture is a product of their enculturation in
the second culture.

Functions of Culture
Since culture seems to be universal human phenomenon, it occurs naturally to
wonder whether culture corresponds to any universal human need. According to
social scientists, culture has certain functions for both the individual and society.

1. Culture defines situations 3. Culture defines myths, legends, and

the supernatural
2. Culture defines attitudes, values, and 4. Culture provides behavior patterns
goals

Ethnocentrism
What is Ethnocentrism? The word ethno comes from the Greeks and it refers to
a people, nation, or cultural grouping. Centric, on the other hand, comes from Latin
and refers to the “center.” The term ethnocentrism then refers to the tendency of each
society to place its own culture patterns at the center of the things. It is the practice
of comparing other cultural practices with those of one’s own and automatically
finding those other cultural practices to be inferior. Cultural variation refers to the
differences in social behaviors that different cultures exhibit around the world.
Functions of Ethnocentrism
1) First, ethnocentrism encourages the solidarity of a group. Believing that
one’s own ways are the best encourages a “we” are feeling with
associates and strengthens the idea that loyalty to comrades and the
preservation of the basis for superiority are important values.
2) Second, ethnocentrism hinders the understanding or the cooperation
between groups. If the ways of one’s own group are best, there is little
incentive to interact with “inferior” groups.
3) Third, conflict of course often leads to social change. In that sense,
ethnocentrism becomes a vehicle for the promotion of social change.

Cultural Relativism
Do you know what cultural relativism is? It is the idea that all norms, beliefs,
and values are dependent on their cultural context and should be treated as such. A
key component of cultural relativism is the concept that nobody, not even researchers,
comes from neutral position. They way to deal with our own assumptions is not to
pretend that they don’t exist, but rather to acknowledge them and then use the
awareness that we are not neutral to inform our conclusion.
It is a research method. Social scientists strive to treat cultural differences as
neither inferior nor superior. This is a method whereby different societies or cultures
analyzed objectively without using the values of one culture to judge the worth of another.

Xenocentrism and Xenophobia

Since we are dealing with behaviors that result in evaluation of cultures, we need
to include two related concepts – xenocentrism and xenophobia.
Xenocentrism refers to a preference for the foreign. In this sense, it is the exact
opposite of ethnocentrism. It is characterized by a strong belief that one’s own
products, styles, or ideas are inferior to those which originate elsewhere. Xenophobia,
on the other hand, is the fear of what is perceived as foreign or strange. Xenophobia
can be seen in the relations and perceptions of an in-group toward an out-group. It
may include fear of losing identity, suspicion of the other group to secure a presumed
purity.

Cultural Heritage
Cultures have tangible (visible) and intangible (nonmaterial) components. The
tangible ones are those that are produced and created based on specific and practical
purposes and aesthetic values. The typical intangible heritage may be associated with
events. In the Philippines, historical sites include, but are not limited to, the houses of
heroes and significant historical personalities.
Preservation of cultural heritage is equal to protecting them from external
threats such as destruction (symbolic and physical), damage (in part or in its entirety)
and violation through playful use/representation