Defining Ethnocentrism & why it's important

In the article by Qingwen Dong, Kenneth D. Day and Christine M. Collaco titled Overcoming Ethnocentrism through Developing Intercultural Communication Sensitivity and Multiculturalism – it states that one’s one group is the center of everything, and all other things are related to or dependent on it.

Why is this important?
On the positive side, it means that a person has patriotism and a willingness to sacrifice for their group.

This seems like a bad thing because someone can be viewed as having apathy for all other groups besides his or her own.  Additionally, a lack of acceptance and intolerance happens when a person is really ethnocentric.  It can lead to misunderstandings, as well.

The authors measure ethnocentrism by a person’s own culture.  I don’t think this captures ethnocentrism as the authors define it because a person is just responding to how they feel regarding their own culture.  It then says that the scale was modified for communication researchers.

If they want to measure it accurately, they aren’t promoting the right thing.  They’re promoting misunderstandings, and one person may think that their group is the ‘center of everything.’  I just don’t understand how this would measure accurately if they were trying to avoid the topic of ‘apathy towards all outer groups.’  They didn’t test people outside of their own culture groups.

Why is this important to me?
I think ethnocentrism is important because it ‘promotes an individual’s ability to respect cultural differences, foster multiple cultural identities, and maintain coexistence.’  Meaning, you can respect someone of another culture, define yourself as more than one culture, and live that way.  It then states that those people can be successful in a place like the United States.

This article also states that the “United States is expected to continue its leading position in appreciating cultural diversity and respecting ethnic/cultural identities.”  In order for the U.S. to be a leader in this, it’s important to have communication sensitivity and know about multiculturalism.

Intercultural sensitivity are the things we deal with daily.  It also has two other factors: intercultural communication awareness and intercultural communication sensitivity.  Cultural awareness is important in being culturally sensitive, as well.  Those who have sensitivity do better in intercultural settings.

Multiculturalism focuses on cultural diversity, which is perceived differently by group members.  It is said to be paradox of accommodating rights of minority groups.  Those in minority groups believe that it protects culture and self-identity.  Those in majority groups have a mixed view—believing that multiculturalism brings diverse views and stronger economic forces.