Shayla Bauchle

Anthropology 100
Everyone is unique. One of the factors that encourages the variety among people is culture.
Across the world, there are thousands of cultures, each distinctive in their own way. Culture can
be learned or inherited and is the nature in which an individual interprets experiences and how
they react to the environment. Culture impacts morals, laws, and customs. Although all culture is
equal and there is not a culture that can be deemed as better than another, some individuals tend
to believe their culture is the best culture; this is labeled as ethnocentrism. Through reflecting on
excerpts from Conformity and Conflict by David McCurdy, Dianna Shandy, and James Spradley,
we can understand the meaning of ethnocentrism, why it should be avoided, and two methods
anthropologists use to avoid being biased while in the field.
When an individual doesnt control their ethnocentrism, they believe that every culture,
except their own, is incorrect and flawed. As it is described in Conformity and Conflict,
Ethnocentrism is the belief and feeling that ones own culture is best (page 5). Unfortunately,
we all are a little ethnocentric in some way. We may not try to be but everyone, naturally and
often unconsciously, believes their behaviors, thoughts, or actions are the best or more
acceptable. This is all due to the fact we have been raised, and have inherited, a specific culture.
The culture we have claimed as our own will always feel more comfortable and natural to us.
However, this does not mean our culture is better than anyone elses. When an individual truly
believes their culture is the best, ethnocentrism becomes a real problem.
This belief is extremely destructive. The most damaging result of ethnocentrism is the amount
of harmful judgement it encourages amongst cultures. It inspires an arrogant, prideful personality

and encourages individuals to believe they are better than others. The authors, referring to
ethnocentrism, reinforce this by stating, It reflects our tendency to judge other peoples beliefs
and behaviors using values of our own native culture (McCurdy, Shandy, and Spradley 5). As it
is discussed in the textbook, we need to learn to control our ethnocentrism in order to gain the
trust of the people we are studying.
The candidates that anthropologists study are referred to as informants. Earning their trust is
exceptionally important in the process of learning from a culture because Informants resent
negative judgement (page 5). Therefore, the informants will most likely not accept the
researcher into their culture if they feel they are being judged. Clearly, ethnocentrism should be
avoided as much as possible, and instead, individuals should focus on keeping an open mind to
other cultures, not only to learn from them but also to respect their differences.
Remaining unbiased is easier said than done. Therefore, anthropologists must use specific
methods in order to keep their culture out of their field work. There is an unlimited list of field
work methods that can be used to do research while maintaining a neutral researcher position.
However, we will focus on the two methods I personally find most interesting. The first method
is by collecting life stories in order to gather information. This is done by finding one individual
from a specific culture and, over multiple interviews, prompting them to share memories that
made an impact on their life. By gathering research in this way, the researcher can understand the
informants story from beginning to end and can make sense of it in their own way. This method
also encourages the informant to do most of the talking which helps the researchers opinion stay
concealed. Next, the second method is done with the use of photography. The researcher would
give the informant a camera and have them photograph or video tape things and places of
significance. Then they would discuss the meaning of each photo and the researcher could

naturally bring up previously determined questions. This helps keep both parties involved and
make the time spent together feel less like research. As you can see, these two methods are very
different but have the same focus. Having so many methods to choose from helps researchers
individualize their studies, stay unbiased, and offer variety to each interview.
Through taking a closer look at the concepts in Conformity and Conflict by David McCurdy,
Dianna Shandy, and James Spradley, we have a clear explanation of ethnocentrism, why we
should work to manage it, and how anthropologists use life stories and photography to gather
information. No culture can truly be deemed as better than another. Therefore, it is important to
remind ourselves that each culture benefits society in its own way. Ethnocentric feelings must
consciously be managed so each culture can be interpreted in an unbiased manner. By using
different fieldwork methods, anthropologists have developed techniques to gather research and
also help keep their opinions private. We should learn from these methods and apply them to our
own lives when we encounter a behavior or belief that appears abnormal. By doing so, we will
be able to appreciate each culture in the best way.

Work Cited
McCurdy, David. Shandy, Dianna. Spradley, James. Conformity and Conflict: Readings in
Cultural Anthropology. 15th Ed. Boston: Pearson, 2015. Print.