Beyond Feelings

96 PART TWO The Pitfalls
important for our discussion is what precedes the outward expression of
self-centeredness and energizes it: egocentric people’s habit of mind.
Following Addeo and Burger, we might characterize that habit as egothink.
Because the perspective of egothink is very limited, egocentric people
have difficulty seeing issues from a variety of viewpoints. The world
exists for them and is defined by their beliefs and values: What disturbs
them should disturb everyone; what is of no consequence to them is
unimportant. This attitude makes it difficult for egocentric people to
observe, listen, and understand. Why should one bother paying attention
to others, including teachers and textbook authors, if they have nothing
valuable to offer? What incentive is there to learn when one already
knows everything worth knowing? For that matter, why bother with the
laborious task of investigating controversial issues, poring over expert
testimony, and evaluating evidence when one’s own opinion is the final,
infallible arbiter? It is difficult, indeed, for an egocentric person to
become proficient in critical thinking.
Ethnocentric People
Ethnocentric means excessively centered or focused on one’s group. Note
the inclusion of the word “excessively.” We can feel a sense of identification
with our racial-ethnic group, religion, or culture without being ethnocentric.
We can also prefer the company of people who share our heritage
and perspective over the company of others without being intolerant. The
familiar is naturally more comfortable than the unfamiliar and to pretend
otherwise is to delude ourselves. Accordingly, the fact that Korean
Americans tend to associate almost exclusively with one another or that
the local Polish American club does not issue invitations to Italians, Finns,
or African Americans should not be regarded as a sign of ethnocentrism.
What distinguishes ethnocentric individuals from those who feel a
normal sense of identification with their group is that ethnocentric people
believe (a) that their group is not merely different from other groups but
fundamentally and completely superior to them and (b) that the motivations
and intentions of other groups are suspect. These beliefs create a
bias that blocks critical thinking. Ethnocentric people are eager to challenge
the views of other groups but unwilling to question the views of
their own group. As a result, they tend to respond to complex situations
with oversimplifications. They acknowledge no middle ground to
issues—things are all one way, the way that accords with their group’s perspective.
They also tend to form negative stereotypes of other groups, as
psychologist Gordon Allport explained many years ago:
By taking a negative view of great groups of mankind, we somehow
make life simpler. For example, if I reject all foreigners as a category,