Ethnocentrism is a sociological term developed by Austrian sociologist Ludwig Gumplowicz. This term explores how people view other (or foreign) cultures.
What is ethnocentrism?
This was a term that I first learned about in one of my sociology classes back in college.
Its definition, according to Dictionary.com, is the belief that one’s own culture is superior or dominant to others.
It also describes a tendency that people often view other people’s cultures through their own cultural lens.
I have this friend.
He is a patriotic Chinese person and he believes that his culture is the best. He believes that all East Asian people are descendants of China, thus making China the dominant nation (and culture).
However, there isn’t much information or facts that back this up, except for ancient Chinese tales and myths.
Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort that a person experiences when he/she has contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values toward others or toward society.
Here are some examples of this psychological phenomenon:
First Example of Cognitive Dissonance
I was reading some news articles and op-eds about pipelines.
The information I was reading was pretty left-wing and listed things that were against pipelines.
It talked about the harm it can cause to the environment. It also talked about how it won’t benefit people as much as it would benefit the oil corporations.
I thought I had a really good understanding of it.
When I went out to eat with some friends, they brought up pipelines. They were saying how it needs to be built and all this positive stuff.
I brought up how it can be harmful to the environment.
What is private equity?I feel like a lot of people are confused with this term (I was one). So here’s a breakdown of what it actually is.
I came across this tweet a couple weeks ago of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) talking about private equity.
At first, I didn’t exactly know what she was talking about when she referred to it.
But I agreed with her just because I had a feeling that it was about corporate corruption, which I am against.
But then I read a few of the replies to the original tweet and I just got confused.
See, if you don’t understand what private equity means, or what it is, you’ll probably think that it means private businesses. And if it is, then I wouldn’t agree with what Ocasio-Cortez said.
I believe that society needs a free market.
I believe that there should be private businesses; not every service should be funded and provided by the government.
Ever wonder how the political parties of Canada were created? And have you ever wondered why certain provinces don’t get along with the Feds?
It was recently Canada’s 43rd election and while researching who I should vote for, I realized that I didn’t know very much about Canadian politics. Or Canadian history for that matter. I didn’t know the histories of the political parties and didn’t understand certain terms or procedures. So this is why I decided to write this article. This will be a way for me to learn this stuff while also sharing my findings and newfound knowledge with you guys.
The Asch Conformity Experiment was an experiment conducted by Solomon Asch. The intent of the experiment was to see how much social pressure plays a factor in conformity.
Have you ever had a discussion with your friends and agreed with a belief that the majority of them believed in, even though you didn’t actually agree with them?
I have. And many, many, many times too.
This psychological effect is something psychologist Solomon Asch called conformity.
In 1951, Asch wanted to investigate the powers of social pressure and how it affects conformity.
The Stanford Prison Experiment was meant to research participants’ behaviours in a simulated prison environment. But after a few days, it showed us so much more.
In 1971, a research psychologist from Stanford University conducted an experiment that would impact our knowledge of power and authority for decades.
The experiment, Stanford Prison Experiment, was done in August of 1971.
The head researcher, Philip G. Zimbardo, wanted to measure the effects that role-playing, labelling, and social expectations had on an individual’s behaviour.
To do it, he created a fake prison with fake guards and prisoners. He acted as the prison warden.
The roles of guard and prisoner were determined by random selection.
‘A Class Divided’ was an experiment conducted by third-grade teacher Jane Elliot. It was an attempt to explain how it felt to be discriminated against.
1968 was not a very progressive time, especially in America.
The United States was still fighting in the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, and Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who won the gold and bronze medals for the 200-metre dash, respectively, had their awards stripped by the International Olympic Committee for protesting the injustices against African-Americans.
These are just some of the bad events that happened.
Noticing this discrimination, Jane Elliot, a third-grade teacher, wanted to do something about it.
Pacing around her classroom after all her students had gone home for the day, she pondered what she could do to create some change in society (I’m guessing this is what she probably did).
After an hour or so of contemplation and jotting down ideas on her blackboard, a light bulb lit up.
