4.3 Enculturation, acculturation, ethnocentrism and cultural relativism
Dwyer (2005) states that culture is a learned process that develops over time. Enculturation is a process of socialisation in which people learn about and adapt to their own culture. It involves conditioning and programming in the processes of communication particular to a culture, including perceptual patterns (for example, categorising people outside of the culture or stereotyping) and verbal and nonverbal language. Acculturation is the process of adjusting or adapting to another culture. Usually this process involves a high level of uncertainty and anxiety that can be decreased by trying to understand the new culture and by being open to differences and similarities.
One of the major factors influencing effective intercultural communication is our ability or inability to understand other cultures. It is impossible to understand the communication of people from other cultures if we are highly ethnocentric : that is, when we hold the belief that our culture is superior to others. This leads us to see our own culture as 'right' and all others as 'wrong' (Gudykunst & Kim 1997). How can we openly communicate when we have such a view? Indeed, how can we even attempt to understand another culture if we think it is 'wrong'?
Becoming more culturally relativistic can overcome the potential communication problems associated with ethnocentrism. 'Cultural relativism is the recognition of cultural differences and the acceptance of the fact that each social group has its own set of cultural norms' (Dwyer 2005, p.36). It suggests that the only way we can understand others is in the context of their culture and that no one cultural trait is 'right' or 'wrong': it is simply different.
Activity 4b
- This activity explores ethnocentrism and how we perceive other cultures. Choose a culture other than your own (for example, a different national, religious or organisational culture).
- List ideas, behaviours, rituals, or practices of that group that are different to your own.
- Which of the ideas, behaviours, rituals, or practices make sense to you? Which do you interpret as strange or silly?
- Which ideas, behaviours, rituals, or practices in your own culture would members of the other culture not understand? Which would they label as strange or silly?
- Consider the following quotation as food for thought:
'We know what we perceive; we don't know what we don't perceive. Since there is no way that we can know what we don't perceive, we assume that we perceive 'correctly' - even if we don't.'
(Singer 1987, pp.19-20)
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