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Chapter 18 - Ethnocentrism: Our Window on the World

from Social Psychology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2018

By
Kenneth D. Keith
Edited by
Kenneth D. Keith
Kenneth D. Keith
Affiliation:
University of San Diego
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Summary

Although it may not appear in psychology courses as frequently as it could, the concept of ethnocentrism is an important, if often unrecognized, aspect of human behavior. Ethnocentrism is likely universal, existing, as numerous writers have observed, like the water surrounding a fish; the fish does not realize it is viewing the world through water, because it has never seen the world any other way. As teachers, a part of our role is to expand our students’ horizons, to provide new experiences, and to offer new perspectives. If some of those experiences can open new cultural vistas, they have potential to change lives.
Type
Chapter
Information
Culture across the Curriculum
A Psychology Teacher's Handbook
 , pp. 391 - 406
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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