Cultural biases and stereotypes

There are lots of different ways that we can show our cultural biases – making assumptions about gender, ethnicity, age, places, or just about anything.

Two terms that can help us think about our cultural biases are:

• Ethnocentrism 
  In 1906 William G. Sumner coined the term ethnocentrism. Sumner believed that ethnocentrism acts as an individual lens whereby the person believes that their own customs and traditions are superior to the traditions and customs of other ethnic groups. In short, an ethnocentric person judges another culture by the values and standards of their own culture. 
• Eurocentrism
  Eurocentrism describes the practice of placing emphasis on European ideas and Western concepts – seeing them as superior to those of other cultures.