TY - JOUR
T1 - Who coined the concept of ethnocentrism? A brief report
AU - Bizumic, Boris
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, PsychOpen. All rights reserved.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - It is widely assumed that Sumner coined the concept of ethnocentrism in 1906. This attribution is prominent in psychology and the social sciences and is found in major works on ethnocentrism, intergroup relations, and prejudice. A review of classic sources written in German, Polish, and English shows that the concept had existed in numerous publications for at least several decades before Sumner's writings on ethnocentrism (e.g., Gumplowicz, 1879, 1881). This article presents early conceptualizations of ethnocentrism and potential influences on Sumner. It also discusses implications of this conceptual history, such as biases that may have contributed to the widespread belief that Sumner coined the concept. It is argued that psychologists and other social scientists should stop attributing the origin of the concept to Sumner, despite his important role in popularizing it, and, in general, should engage more with their intellectual history in different languages.
AB - It is widely assumed that Sumner coined the concept of ethnocentrism in 1906. This attribution is prominent in psychology and the social sciences and is found in major works on ethnocentrism, intergroup relations, and prejudice. A review of classic sources written in German, Polish, and English shows that the concept had existed in numerous publications for at least several decades before Sumner's writings on ethnocentrism (e.g., Gumplowicz, 1879, 1881). This article presents early conceptualizations of ethnocentrism and potential influences on Sumner. It also discusses implications of this conceptual history, such as biases that may have contributed to the widespread belief that Sumner coined the concept. It is argued that psychologists and other social scientists should stop attributing the origin of the concept to Sumner, despite his important role in popularizing it, and, in general, should engage more with their intellectual history in different languages.
KW - Conceptual history
KW - Ethnicity
KW - Ethnocentrism
KW - Intergroup relations
KW - Prejudice
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84921992151&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5964/jspp.v2i1.264
DO - 10.5964/jspp.v2i1.264
M3 - Comment/debate
SN - 2195-3325
VL - 2
SP - 3
EP - 10
JO - Journal of Social and Political Psychology
JF - Journal of Social and Political Psychology
IS - 1
ER -