Chapter 3

Making Generalizations

KEY TERMS
2. Ethnocentrism 3. Generalization 4. Stereotype 5. Prejudice 6. Racism 7. Social Darwinism

1. Empathy

2 key ideas
How do we respond to people who differ from us? Ethnocentrism <- - - - - - - - -> Empathy Judge them Understand them

2 key ideas
Ethnocentrism <- - - - - - - - -> Empathy Judging others understanding by my cultures others from standards their perspective

One of the goals of cross-cultural communication is to understand each other at a deep level:

EMPATHY

, values & viewpoint Understanding, feeling and identifying with someone elses situation.

Two similar words:

sympathy

Feeling sorry for

someones bad luck

empathy Understanding and identifying with a persons viewpoint or situation

EMPATHY IS A SKILL WE LEARN:

Understanding their feelings

 An 8 year old boy sat in his seat at school. He was the

first to arrive at school in the morning. But as he sat in his seat, he had an embarrasing accident: he wet his pants. The front of his pants were all wet and a puddle was on the floor beneath his seat. He thought he would die of embarrassment when the other students arrived. The next student to arrive was a girl. She saw the boy and realized what had happened. She grabbed a big glass of water and walked beside the boy and accidently dropped the glass of water onto the boys lap. When the other students came they felt sorry for the boy because the girl had spilled water on his lap. Later the boy thanked the girl for helping him. She said, Dont mention it. I wet my pants before.

EMPATHY IS A SKILL WE LEARN:

Understanding their difficulties

EMPATHY IS A SKILL WE LEARN:

Understanding their viewpoint

EMPATHY IS A SKILL WE LEARN:

Understanding their perceptions

EMPATHY IS A SKILL WE LEARN:

Identifying with them If I were him

Learning empathy
Imagine
How would I feel if Why would I do that?

Observe
Be inspired by the lives and actions of those who show real caring and understanding People you know People in books, movies, history

Serve
Help those in need

KEY TERMS
2. Ethnocentrism (usually a bad thing)

1. Empathy (a very good thing)

1. ETHNOCENTRISM
Ethnic + center My group is the center or My culture is the center
I am better than him I am better than him

ETHNOCENTRISM = CULTURAL SUPERIORITY

1. The belief that ones own culture is
better than all other cultures. 2. the belief that ones own culture is the standard by which other cultures are judged.

Ethnocentrism

This belief is common

to all cultures. But we must learn to overcome it.

Attitudes

of Cultural Superiority

It is natural to have pride in our country But sometimes this pride turns into an attitude that
others are not as good

WHERE DOES ETHNOCENTRISM COME FROM?

Etnocentrism starts with a very normal

and useful human skill: generalization

(3) Generalization =

putting similar things into categories

Generalization =

putting similar things into categories

This is how our brain stores information

Why do people generalize?

This is how our brains work. We put our
experiences into mental categories. Generalizations are traits that are true of whole categories.
All trees are similar All boys are similar All dogs are similar

Why do people generalize?

This is how our brains work. We put our
experiences into mental categories. Generalizations are traits that are true of whole categories. We generalize from past experiences to new experiences. Humans cannot treat every experience as new. We look for similarities between old and new in order to understand the new ones.

Let me show you something you have never seen before

Generalization works both ways

one member of a group as true for all members of the group.

After we create a category We may begin using what is known about

Generalization works both ways

we create a category in our mind
Category: tree

Generalization works both ways

category are true for all

we create a category in our mind Then we begin to think the traits of the

Generalization works both ways

category are true for all
All trees are like this

we create a category in our mind Then we begin to think the traits of the

 A generalization may be
true or partially true or false

Are these true or false generalizations?

All humans have two hands. Newborn babies are not able to talk All buildings have windows. Chinese is harder to learn than English. All men are dirty. All men are dirtier than women.
(this is a stereotype)

All humans make generalizations.

Overgeneralizations (all Americans are tall)

^

Generalizations
V

Undergeneralizations (all people are unique)

Problems with Generalizing

Generalizations rarely apply equally to
everyone Culture is changing, generalizations can be out of date Even a correct generalization might only apply for a short time and specific location

Problems with Generalizing

Most information contains bias
Bias means to lean in favor of one side of an issue

Biased information is only partly true A bias is often hidden, not made clear.

 So a generalization is a good and

necessary mental tool
But we can overgeneralize

Sometimes we make

generalizations comparing two or more groups This is a stereotype

(4) Stereotype.
A stereotype is a generalization that is
Used to tell the difference between two groups of people or things

Stereotypes can be true or false but

tend to be exaggerations or overgeneralizations

Examples of Stereotypes.
Americans are rude Asians are better with computers
than other peoples men are dirtier than women women are better at caring for children than men

stereotypes
Stereotypes are generalizations used to
compare groups of people or things
These are different than those

They are often negative about one group

these are better than those

They are difficult to change They are popularly believed

 These negative stereotypes can lead to

prejudice

 1) Can be positive or negative

my child is the best.

(5) Prejudice

2) A biased stereotype
Having a leaning for or against a group based on feelings or experiences, not based on evidence

3) A pre-judgment: judging people

without getting to know them 4) Often a negative stereotype
they are inferior

Some Positive

Stereotypes: Prejudice:

Some Negative

NEGATIVE

Why is Prejudice bad? Because Prejudice is a Negative Stereotype.

Prejudice
Prejudice is a negative stereotype that is
Often directed against minorities or foreigners Difficult to change Does not allow for individuality Does not give individual group members a chance
to prove they are different from the stereotype.

Severe Prejudice HIGH

Symbolic Prejudice

MIDDLE

Tokenism

Subtle Prejudice

Real likes & dislikes LOW Preference for the familiar

The Varying Degrees of Prejudice p.42-44

Types of Prejudice
1. Preference for the familiar
To prefer to be with people with whom you feel comfortable So you avoid the unfamiliar Real likes and dis-likes To dislike a different groups dress, food, music, customs So you avoid those who do what you dont like Subtle prejudice To associate with other groups at work or school but not be friends with them after work

2.

3.

Types of Prejudice
4. Tokenism: People are nice to a group because they
dont want to admit their negative feelings They give money to charity They participate in short term projects. (i.e. push

5. Symbolic Prejudice: Negative feelings towards a

group because feel threatened by the group Problem of illegal immigration in America Common amongst educated middle class

wheelchair, as opposed to pushing for wheelchair accessible stores)

6.

Severe Prejudice
Racism Ku Klux Klan

Racism
Racism is severe prejudice
Against a racial, ethnic, social, religious or national group Japanese treatment of Chinese and Koreans American treatment of black-Americans and
Native-Americans European treatment of Jews Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda Chinese treatment of ???

Racism
Racism is severe prejudice
The belief that another group of people is always inferior to ones own group and therefore deserves worse treatment Leads to Fear or hatred of the members of the other group Discrimination based on group membership (not
on character or achievement) Violence and genocide
genocide means the attempt to kill an entire group of people

Outcomes of Racism

Racism can lead to treating human

beings like animals

Outcomes of Racism

or worse than animals!

Who said this quote?

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

7. Social Darwinism/ the theory of Cultural Evolution

Social Darwinism of 1800s made racism
worse
Social Darwinism is the belief that cultures evolve from lower to higher levels Similar to the belief in biological evolution: the survival of the fittest More evolved cultures have better civilization and more technology

Social Darwinism
ranking cultures
from lowest to highest

tribal cultures are seen as simple & primitive

Social Darwinism
ranking cultures
from lowest to highest

my culture is best= ??

How can we overcome prejudice?

This is not easy. It does not happen just by going to the
same school or working at the same business. It takes intentional efforts to get to know and understand members of the other group. It takes effort to see them as individuals and as equals.

HOMEWORK: FOR NEXT CLASS

Read pages 50-54