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Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism Cultural Relativism

Xenocentrism is the preference for foreign cultures, people, and products over those of one's own country. It was coined in 1952 and refers to individuals who have ties to other countries, oppose their native country's politics, or are exposed to other cultures. Xenocentrism is opposed to ethnocentrism, which describes valuing one's own culture over others. Consumer xenocentrism specifically refers to preferring foreign goods even if domestic alternatives are similar or better, and is seen more in former colonies where foreign goods are perceived as superior. It can negatively impact local industries and living standards.

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991 views2 pages

Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism Cultural Relativism

Xenocentrism is the preference for foreign cultures, people, and products over those of one's own country. It was coined in 1952 and refers to individuals who have ties to other countries, oppose their native country's politics, or are exposed to other cultures. Xenocentrism is opposed to ethnocentrism, which describes valuing one's own culture over others. Consumer xenocentrism specifically refers to preferring foreign goods even if domestic alternatives are similar or better, and is seen more in former colonies where foreign goods are perceived as superior. It can negatively impact local industries and living standards.

Uploaded by

Rohan Mittal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Xenocentrism is the preference for the products, style, culture, people, significant others, and

food of others, rather than of one's own.  Xenocentrism is countered by ethnocentrism, the
perceived superiority of one's own society to others. Both xenocentrism and ethnocentrism are a
subjective take on cultural relativism.

Etymology

Xenocentrism was coined by American sociologists Donald P. Kent and Robert G. Burnight in
the 1952 paper "Group Centrism in Complex Societies" published in the American Journal of
Sociology. Kent and Burnight state that feelings of xenocentrism are caused by three possible
factors; individuals who have familial ties to a foreign country, specifically 2nd or 3rd generation
immigrants, those who oppose the political choices of their native country. One example of this
is the Communist Party USA. The party idealized the Soviet Union and its anti-capitalist
government. As well as individuals who are exposed to other cultures and grow disenchanted
with their society, and then rebel against it. 

The term is opposed to ethnocentrism, as coined by 19th-century American sociologist William


Graham Sumner, which describes the natural tendencies of an individual to place
disproportionate worth upon the values and beliefs of one's own culture relative to others.

Consumer Xenocentrism

Rene Dentiste Mueller and Amanda Broderick were the first to apply the consumer xenocentrism
(CX) concept to describe the preference some consumers have for foreign goods even when
domestic goods are qualitatively and/or functionally similar or better. Although the CX
phenomenon is global, the researchers cite a significant number of studies that suggests there are
proportionally more consumer xenocentrics in former colonies where the locals have been
conditioned to perceive ‘foreign’ as better. A consequence of consumer xenocentrism is its
negative effect on local industry and on the decline in living standards as poor consumers buy the
(often) more expensive foreign products. Consumer xenocentrism, especially among the local
elites, reduces confidence and pride in local manufacturing which can lead to the loss of local
industries, a decline in purchase choices, especially among traditional products or even a
dependency on foreign ones. Mueller, Wang, Liu and Cui, applied the concept to China and
showed consumer xenocentrism is not a new phenomenon. The researchers were also able to
show that when consumer xenocentrism grew too much, a ‘protection of the herd’ mentality
caused the pendulum to swing back towards consumer ethnocentrism (nationalism).

Puja Mondal cited some examples from India:

"People in India often assume that British lifestyle (dress pattern, etc.), French fashion or
Japanese electronic devices (TV, tape recorders, mobile set, washing machines, etc.) and Swiss
watches are superior to their own."
Grace Susetyo suggests "the idea that foreign cultures and their elements are superior to the
local" causes a crisis of cultural identity among Western-educated Indonesians and is a problem
that needs to be eradicated.

George Balabanis and Adamantios Diamantopoulos further defined consumer xenocentrism to be


a multi-dimensional construct by which to explain consumer affinities for foreign products. They
define consumer xenocentrism to be rooted in two concepts, perceived inferiority of domestic
goods and aggrandized perception of foreign products.

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