Title: Society and Culture: The Interaction of Cultures | SparkNotes
Headings: Society and Culture
Society and Culture
Ethnocentrism
Exported Ethnocentrism
Cultural Relativism
Culture Shock
Culture Shock at Home
Culture Lag
Cultural Diffusion
Global Diffusion

Content: Example: Americans tend to value technological advancement, industrialization, and the  accumulation of wealth. An American, applying his or her own standards to a culture that does  not value those things, may view that culture as “primitive” or “uncivilized.” Such labels are  not just statements but judgments: they imply that it is better to be urbanized and  industrialized than it is to carry on another kind of lifestyle. People in other cultures, such as some European cultures, also see American  culture through the lens of their own ethnocentrism. To members of other cultures, Americans  may seem materialistic, brash, or arrogant, with little intellectual subtlety or spirituality. Many Americans would disagree with that assessment. Exported Ethnocentrism
When missionaries go to other countries to convert the local people to their brand of  religion, they are practicing ethnocentrism. Missionaries usually want to convert people to  their own forms of worship, and they sometimes encourage people to give up their religious  beliefs.