O ex what behaviors are expected of different family

o ex: what behaviors are expected of different family memers and how
are these negotiated between adults and children in the family?

o negative side of ethnocentrism: can lead to nasty consequences or
even genocide
o difficult to be objective- we must examine the people of other cultures
in terms of their cultures
 Napoleon Chagnon - studied Yanomamo Indians of South America by living
with them for a year
o first reaction to Yanomamo would be horror and disgust, but in time if
we keep an open mind, we would become accustomed to the
Yanomamo ways
 Cultural relativism- belief that other people and their ways of doing things
can be understood only in terms of the cultural context of those people
o Work to overcome their ethnocentrism by practicing cultural
relativism
o if our goal is to truly understand people’s behavior, we have to look for
clues in their culture
o cultural relativism means being objective enough to understand
people’s behaviors in terms of their culture and social situation
(understand and explain it)
Practice Questions: