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Paul Hopper
the subject in every aspect of the classic journalistic style: who, what, when, where,
why and how. William Sumner said it best when he described ethnocentrism as “the
technical name for this view of things in which ones own group is the center of
everything, and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it” (Sumner, 1906).
Now, ethnocentric thinking is born – in the most basic form – from the belief in a
useful quality in every person’s culture. This useful quality – or virtue as this paper
will refer to it – can be one or many and about any area of society. When one
identifies with this virtue because they have been taught to do so, they naturally
reason at the most basic level of intercultural comprehension, if their way to think
about a virtue is good, then any other way is bad. This is only a very simplistic
– the difference being a person’s low or high-ethnocentric thought. This belief not
frame-of-reference that we use to view other societies outside of and within our own
This paper has explained who, what, when, and where concerning
ethnocentrism. Next the why behind ethnocentrism’s importance and when that
ethnocentrism comes from the ‘typical’ high school experience in the United States.
Imagine one clique of students – the “nerds” – sees another clique – the
cheerleaders – being loud in the library while they’re trying to study. Later that
same day, the cheerleaders are practicing in the gym and the nerds are sitting
around waiting for the bell so they can leave, but this time they’re the ones being
loud. Now think of how the nerds perceived the cheerleaders when they were in the
library. Their attitude towards being loud in that location was that the cheerleaders
were being rude. On the reverse side, the cheerleaders never thought their
behavior was rude in the library; however, when they were trying to practice in the
gym they did think that the nerds were being rude. The assumption that people
should be quiet in the library or the gym is based upon each group’s views about
those places providing them with a chance to work and for that they need quiet. But
to the opposite group in either situation, the assumption that there should be
silence does not apply and is in fact seen as rude; this is ethnocentric thinking.
Sense Europeans first began colonizing North America, in what would become
the United States, until the year 2000, almost 50 million people immigrated into the
U.S. (TSL-EIF, 2008). Between 2003 and 2008, more than six million more
immigrants permanently, legally, settled into this country (DHS, 2009). Now the
total population of the United States as of October 27th, 2009 was only 307,793,118
people, meaning the total number of immigrants is roughly equal to 1/6 the total
population today; so that fraction does not include the posterity of the families who
This paper will begin by discussing immigration in the U.S. by what factors
have affected it, its ‘waves’, and current policy. Next stereotypes will be explored,
discussed including studies to illustrate the point of the section. Finally, the
the issue of immigration and the attitudes of U.S. citizens towards these
newcomers, it is undeniable they have made their impact on the States. It was
Thomas Paine who first said, “This new World hath been the asylum for the
persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe,” little did
Paine know the same could be said for every corner of the world before the United
Immigration
Many factors have affected immigration into the United States. Chief among
them are the wars fought inside and out of the country as well as the laws enacted
on the subject. The first United States census was taken in 1790 (USCB, 2009).
Before then, more than 875,000 people from all parts of Europe, Central America,
and Africa had moved to the States. In Florida the Spanish had been established
sense the late 1500’s and by the early 1600’s the English had settled New England
and Virginia. The Dutch had done the same in New York and New Jersey, and the
Swedish in Delaware. That first census counted 3.9 million people in the country –
not including Native Americans that lived in the colonies. The largest of the
nationalities were the English, followed by people of African descent1 (around 20%)
Immigration in U.S. 5/ 26
and behind them the Germans, Scotts, and Irish making the only other sizable
national demographics.
In the same year as the first census, the United States Congress passed its
country.2 To this point, Congress only stated “…any alien, being a free white person,
However this could be done only after a period of two years residency. Until 1802,
Congress passed laws every few years making it increasingly more difficult and
It is important to note that in 1865 after the end of the American Civil War,
Congress and the states passed the 13th Amendment making slavery illegal. Since
1808 slaves were prevented from being brought into the U.S.; however those
already in slavery and their posterity were doomed to stay there until the 13th’s
passage, though it was not only Africans and Caribbean islanders who were brought
in as forced labor. For a nearly 50 year span at the beginning of the colonization of
the English colonies, poor Europeans would barter four to seven years of their life to
unpaid labor in the colonies in exchange for a one-way trip there and land after
completion of their time. Also (and this will be discussed more later on), Asian
immigrants were forcibly brought over to work in California even after the passage
of the 13th Amendment and the freedom of the slaves (TSL-EIF, 2008).
Over the following decades many acts on immigration, naturalization, and the
their first act prohibiting undesirable immigrants from entering the country as well
1882, the “Chinese Exclusion Act” marked the first piece of racially motivated
immigrating into the country, barred any Chinese already in the States from
becoming naturalized, and only allowed Chinese intellectuals who were “proceeding
to the United States… from curiosity” to enter the country on a temporary basis.3 In
1885, the first of a series of Contract Labor Laws was passed, making it illegal to
import foreigners into the country by contract for performing a certain number of
Decades came and went with immigration legislation being passed, mostly
making it more difficult and expensive to do so. Key legislation included: 1891’s
1910’s “Mann Act” (ironically named) provided for the illegalization of interstate
trafficking of women for “immoral purposes;” the “Immigration Act of 1917” that
further limited those immigrants who would be allowed into the country based on
Nineteen hundred and twenty one saw the first Quota legislation passed on
immigration. This and the acts that followed were attempts by the Federal
government to limit immigration from certain areas of the world. The total number
present in the country based on earlier census data – effectively making sure that
allowable immigrants down further and further with each new quota law (USCIS,
2006). It wasn’t until 1965 that Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Hart-Cellar Act,
Immigration in U.S. 7/ 26
throwing out the quota system and adopting the current immigration system we
War always affects immigration in two ways: first, it changes the ethnocentric
perceptions of the citizens in each country; and second, it almost always results in a
changing of immigration and naturalization law. For the sake of time and length,
only two examples will be shared in this paper; however, this is not to undermine
the importance of conflict – even if the country being studied is not involved – on
From 1938 until 1945, Ellis Island in New York was used to detain around
7,000 legal aliens from Japan, Italy, and Germany as well as naturally born Japanese
citizens (TSL-EIF, 2008). Not being limited to the east coast, the majority of the
forced resettlements of Japanese Americans as well as legal aliens from Axis nations
occurred on the west coast. Nearly 120,000 Japanese were relocated into
internment camps during World War II, many of whom were American citizens.4
Though the pretext for this move was security, 17,000 children under ten-years-old
parents. Also, 1,000 handicapped or infirm were taken from hospitals as well as
2,000 men and women over the age of 65 (Burton, Farrell, Lord, & Lord).
Following World War II, the “Internal Security Act of 1950” excluded aliens
who had been communists or fascists in their countries from entering the U.S. The
Cold War had a drastic impact on immigration to the States; however, the many
Waves – Mass-migrations
Immigration in U.S. 8/ 26
It is, for the most part, common knowledge there have been mass-migrations
of people from all over the world into the U.S. over its lifetime. These waves go from
the Pilgrims, to 5,000 English prisoners creating what’s now Georgia, on to the
waves of Irish immigrants during the potato famine years, and so on and so forth.
Some other migrations that are not so well known include the massive influx of
Norwegian immigrants in the late 19th century. In the decade of the 1880’s, a total
Other migrations were stopped in their tracks by harsh immigration law, such
as the influx of Asian and Western Europeans attempting to take refuge in the U.S.
just before the outbreak of WWII in the late 1930’s. These people were sent back
across the Atlantic and Pacific by the thousands because of strong isolationist
feelings.
Mass Naturalization.
Of particular interest when studying the views of U.S. citizens and its
government are the in-mass naturalizations that occurred during the country’s
history. There are many examples of this in our nation’s history, but only a few
immigrants. After 1945 when the Japanese, Italians, and Germans began being
released from internment camps in the west – as well as a few on the east coast
such as Ellis Island – it became a great concern over what to do with them. United
States citizens were allowed to return to their lives, though without reimbursement
for the losses of their property and jobs. Interestingly enough, during the war, the
U.S. had acquired some 3,000 Japanese from Peru and following the war, Peru
would not take them back – mostly because the motivation for ridding themselves
of the minority in the first place was not for security but rather anti-Asian
Immigration in U.S. 9/ 26
sentiments in their country. So, the U.S. government had to decide what to do with
them. Some of the people were sent back to Japan, but the large majority were
given citizenship in the U.S., making it one of the first recent examples of this
With the Cold War beginning, Europe began taking sides. In a 1947 State of
the Union address to Congress, President Harry Truman had this to say about
refugees fleeing Europe, “I urge the Congress to turn its attention to this world
problem in an effort to find ways whereby we can fulfill our responsibility to these
thousands of homeless and suffering refugees of all faiths.” At the time, only around
5,000 immigrants fleeing Europe had been admitted, much less than the number
being turned away (Woolley & Peters). Surprisingly, this statement seems to
illustrate the stance of the government during the Cold War years; however, it does
not entirely represent the view of the people. The following year Congress passed
the “Displaced Person’s Act,” and later the “Refugee Relief Act” which gave a few
hundred thousand immigrants refuge in the States while still turning away hundreds
of thousands more (USCIS, 2006). Three years later in 1956 and ’57, 38,000
Hungarians who had failed to overthrow the Soviet Union in their country were
granted refugee status in the States, constituting the first true mass nationalization
Under international pressure from the United Nations and Western European
allies as well as the executive branch, Congress passed the 1965 “Immigration and
between 1966 and 2000 proves its effectiveness. Almost 23 million people came
into the States as a result of that law (Daniels, 2007). How this law relates to mass
Immigration in U.S. 10/ 26
people, only a little over 10 million immigrated into the U.S. via normal means – not
using any factors other than their wanting to enter the country (TSL-EIF, 2008). The
rest of those people were considered refugees from all parts of the world.
Reform Act passed in 1986. The legislation granted amnesty to 3,000,000 illegal
aliens – most of whom were from the south, Mexico and other Central American
countries – who had been in the country continuously sense 1982. The other side of
the bill contained new controls to discourage illegal immigration as well as making it
Immigration Now
Current Policy.
Today, the basic criteria to become a naturalized citizen for the United States
are:
• Five years of residency starting when you are granted legal permanent alien
status.
• Three months in the district or state where you will be when you apply for
citizenship.
This information came from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Current attitudes.
Immigration in U.S. 11/ 26
In a 2008 Gallup poll, 57% of U.S. citizens over the age of 18 believed the
level of immigrants coming into the country was either fine the way it was or should
be increased. Thirty nine percent said that the level should be decreased while
three percent were unsure. Less than a month after the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks, the same poll was taken with only 38% of the population saying
the level was fine where it was or wanted it increased and 58% of the people
agreeing that the level needed to be decreased. However, after that year (as the
same poll has been taken each year since), the population returned to roughly the
same view as it has now. In the same Gallup poll in 2008, 64% of U.S. citizens agree
that immigration was a good thing for the country today (Gallup, 2008).
believe that the country is in a recession, and just over fifty percent of the country
believes the economy is getting better to some degree (either a lot or a little)
Stereotypes
out-group homogeneity effect theory. This theory has been proven many times over
in scholarly experiments all over the country and in different cultures. However, the
reason behind this effect is still being debated. In essence, the Effect is the
tendency of individuals to see out-groups (those groups they are not a part of) as
more homogeneous, or less variable, than in-groups (those in which they are a
part). In layman’s terms, people see other groups (cultures/ micro-cultures) as more
Immigration in U.S. 12/ 26
similar – and thus more stereotypical – than their own, which they see as variable
Taylor and Lana Porter have researched why this is so in the States while it is not
generally true in other parts of the world. First, the history of stereotypes here is
filled with negative and destructive connotations from European Americans towards
African Americans. This automatically taints any usage of stereotypes today in any
context. Secondly, they believe the idea of the United States being a “melting pot”
stereotypes. For by definition, stereotypes call out differences in groups while the
“melting pot” idea emphasizes hegemony and the lack of differences. Lastly, Taylor
and Porter recognize the well documented truth that people (or groups) are more
attracted and willing to like someone (or another group) if they are alike. This
means the more differences groups have, the more likely it will be that negative
The fact has been known for some time that stereotypes are one of the first
ideas assimilated by children, even before they’re old enough to fully understand or
question them (Neuliep, 2009). In fact, a study performed by Ashton Trice and
Kimberly Rush on 4-year-old children in varying schools around the U.S. found these
children had already developed gender stereotypes about what jobs belonged to
men and what jobs belonged to women (Trice & Rush, 1995).
judgments. Essentially, this article identified and began to explain the cognitive
combination. The theory created by Hamilton and Gifford, called the Illusory
Correlation Theory, is contested still with researchers debating the meaning of the
experiment results.
theory, three researchers – Risen, Gilovich, and Dunning – published four studies in
2007 introducing and confirming the emergence of what they termed a One-shot
subjects (Study 1)
as a cause of their rare-behavior while not doing the same for any other
Though how does the One-shot Illusionary Correlation work in a real world
scenario? An example would be a man in the Midwest of the United States standing
in line at the grocery store. This day he sees a woman from the Middle East wearing
a chador – the traditional covering for a Muslim woman particularly in Iran. He’s
never seen a woman from that part of the world before or one wearing a cador, but
he knows it is something worn by Muslim women. While at the store waiting in line
he notices that the woman never looks the man who’s bagging her groceries in the
eyes and continues to stare at the floor while he’s helping her with her purchases.
After leaving the store the man begins to wonder if the woman wouldn’t look at him
because she was from the Middle East and a Muslim. The man’s cognitive thoughts
about why she would not look the worker in the eyes is a simple example of the
One-shot Illusory Correlation. He took extra time to register the event and
trends are helpful in understanding their formation and supposed validity. The first
group/out-group effects, though, Bernadette Park and Charles Judd assert P.G.V. is a
field of study unto itself. Their research in how variability is measured and factors
contributing to its formation helps to improve all aspects of group effects. Simply
Immigration in U.S. 15/ 26
recalled later. Controversy surrounds the factors associated with the recall and
would assume that exemplars are the only encoded memory of groups. Therefore,
when one is recalling a stereotypical judgment about a group, they do not recall
group level information but only exemplars and thus each time come up with a new
construct of the group variability and stereotypes. On the other hand, Park and
Rothbart have come up with a more mixed approach, wherein the perceiver
encodes exemplar information but also their judgments of the group at that time.
So when information about the group is recalled, the perceiver brings up first group
specific exemplars. These two leading theories represent how P.G.V. forms and is
people (members of their own in-groups) to perceive others who are not members
of their group (out-group members) as less variable and more homogeneous than
their in-group. This OH effect – as it’s called – has been documented across many
types of groups in multiple studies. Now why is it important? If one believes in this
effect, then it helps to explain the confidence level of peoples’ stereotypes as well
as their extent. The level of prejudice in study subjects has also been found to
Studies have shown over and over that gender stereotypes are among some of the
most prominent in our society. A study by Ashton Trice and Kimberly Rush
which professions the children deemed appropriate for males and females (1995).
African, Hispanic, and Asian Americans, the study found that “across ethnic groups,
women are consistently stereotyped to express more fear, guilt, love, sadness,
shame, surprise, and sympathy” than men in those same ethnic groups (2006).
Both of these studies were performed in the United States but demonstrate the
Ethnocentrism
Critiques of Study
Crisis of modernity.
and why it is important. Before one may begin to analyze how ethnocentrism
presents itself in the society of the United States, one should be aware of its
criticisms. Normally, the Crisis of Modernity would not be an issue when discussing
ethnocentrism in one’s own culture. However, in the case of the U.S. and a handful
of other nations, the CoM is an issue which must be explored. In short, the CoM is
the new doubt that what is considered the modern view of human history and
Immigration in U.S. 17/ 26
cultural evolution is the true picture of how things occurred. This issue threatens the
frame or context in which most if not all social science studies are conducted.
Universalistic convictions.
Essentially this is the risk of assuming all world cultures have as their final “goal” –
one could say – a Western society with its behaviors and beliefs at their core. This is
obviously a fallacy in any argument; though many researchers find these fallacies in
“Racism and ethnocentrism are not synonymous, they are related” says
Neuliep. The relationship he refers to is also the threat ethnocentrism can form in a
ethnocentrism through our ethnicity and cultural upbringing. It has been described
as a “survival instinct” relative to all “people in all cultures” (2009). However, when
Racism
hierarchical belief that all other racial groups are inferior to the one and this cannot
the perceiver’s attention. Although with racism, again, no factors beside the genetic
component play any role. So one might ask why racism would ever be taught to a
culture. The main argument for the propagation of racism is a society’s ignorance of
another, fear of their cultures, and hatred towards their actions (Neuliep, 2009).
Stereotype Functionality
This paper has covered the pros and cons of stereotypes. It has discussed
how they are formed and why. Though it has not, until now, speculated as to if they
should or should not be changed. Stereotypes by their nature are moldable. They
the news media and we then use the information to develop a group association.
should be changed because – unlike the belief in the United States – not all
stereotypes are considered bad everywhere in the world. Stereotypes can serve a
Stereotypes may also serve as a warning, a defense mechanism for some societies
border on racism. Society, not just in the United States but elsewhere, must be
believing too firmly in stereotypes. There must be a line in the sand – so to speak –
Immigration in U.S. 19/ 26
where a society can tolerate the individual stereotypes of its people but step in
Ethnocentrism Functionality
For much the same reason stereotypes can be useful to society, ethnocentric
thinking can also be useful. Things like ideas, train of thoughts, and cultural
evolution as a whole are culturally specific. One of those things created in the
United States will not work the same if it is put into practice in the Middle East, Asia,
or a number of other societies. However, a train of thought which has been working
well in the United States might – and most likely will – continue to do so and is
So where one must remain cautious is how they treat other civilizations. One
cannot apply their own ethnocentric notions of conditions and measures of culture
to other areas of the world and expect them to be accurate measurements. These
types of areas of research must be rethought from outside of the mold in order to
find ways to accurately understand and categorize different cultures. These new
When a society, such as the United States’, hopes to develop a “melting pot”
culture where many religions, traditions, and a variety of other ways of life are
generation to attempt this, cultural literacy must be stressed in curriculum with the
goal being to override the ethnocentric viewpoints each child is taught from birth.
Immigration in U.S. 20/ 26
This is certainly easier said than done. Kenneth Carano, a doctoral candidate
at the University of South Florida, is a Peace Corps veteran who has spent much of
his career teaching school children about other cultures. A 2006 National
Geographic and Roper survey cited in Carano and Michael Berson’s paper
and only 63% could find Iraq. This geographic literacy deficiency is not only limited
to physical geography. Studies have proven that young citizens of the United States
are more apt to the Out-group Homogeneity effect than people of similar ages in
Carano and Berson give our best chance to increase children’s cultural
literacy to technology. They first propose using the Internet in Social Studies
classrooms to connect children from different backgrounds so they may share their
opinions and beliefs. The other important use of the Internet, according to Carano
and Berson, is to allow children to find news sources of their own to expand their
Even the use of the Internet in these ways is not enough. Educators must
incorporate global perspectives into Social Studies curriculum. There are eight
Dimensions of Global Perspective listed by Carano and Berson but created by other
researchers. According to these two men, inclusion of technology into the classroom
and the Either Dimensions of Global Perspectives into the curriculum would be
enough to begin altering the naive cultural perceptions of youth in the United
States.
Conclusion
This paper has given an overview of most of the topics one would need to
stereotypes in the United States. The point of the theory explained and history
given is to educate the reader in how stereotypes and ethnocentric thinking effect
their everyday lives. Ironically, it is the desire of the author to promote the reader of
this paper to change not their actions towards others or even their thoughts
(stereotypes) but instead to rethink the perceptions they have made about others in
States or other cultures which interact with the United States. It was the 1864
Republican Party platform that might have summed up the author’s view on
immigration the best when they said, “Foreign immigration which in the past has
added so much to the wealth, resources, and increase of power to the nation…
References
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Footnotes
1
In 1619, the first slaves began being forcibly brought to the colonies from the
regulate or monitor immigration into the United States until 1875 and did not do so
until 1890. Before then, Congress had only monitored immigration. Essentially the
had a 1/16 Japanese heritage (Burton, Ferral, Lord, & Lord). That comes down to
could be considered a One-source Illusory Correlation. In his study, Dixon found with
in their book, Culture Troubles: Politics and the Interpretation of Meaning. Among
many other things they dispel the idea of seeing cultures as sets of norms, beliefs,
creeds, and values as well as the idea of seeing cultures as universally unconscious
networks integrated into human nature. The two propose a new way to study
Immigration in U.S. 26/ 26