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.

种族中心主义过于关注他们自己的群体。注意“过于”这个词。我们可以对种族、宗教或文化有认同感，而不是以种族为中心。人们会更喜欢跟他们有共同文化背景和观点的人交往。熟悉的人自然比不熟悉的人更舒服，且假装则是在欺骗自己。因此，韩裔美国人倾向于将几乎所有的人都联系在一起，或者当地的波兰裔美国人俱乐部不会向意大利人、芬兰人或非裔美国人发出邀请，这一事实不应被视为民族中心主义的标志。

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:

把以种族为中心的人与那些对自己的群体有一种正常认同感的人区分开来的是以种族主义为中心的人相信：

a）他们的群体不仅仅不同于其他群体而且根本地完全地优于他们。

b）其他群体的动机和意图是值得怀疑的。

这种信仰会产生阻碍了批判性思考的偏见。他们急于质疑其它群体的观点却又不愿意怀疑自己群体的观点。结果就会对复杂的问题做出过于简单化的反应。他们认为没有中间地带，问题只有一种方式，就是符合他们群体观点的方式。他们也倾向于形成对其他群体的负面刻板印象，就像心理学家Gordon Allport多年前解释的那样:

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, I don’t have to bother with them—except to keep them out of my country. If I can ticket, then, all Negroes as comprising an inferior and objectionable race, I conveniently dispose of a tenth of my fellow citizens. If I can put the Catholics into another category and reject them, my life is still further simplified. I then pare again and slice off the Jew . . . and so it goes.

通过对人类伟大群体的负面看法，可以让我们的生活变得更简单。例如，如果我拒绝所有外国人作为一个类别，我就不必为他们操心——只需把他们排除在我的国家之外。如果我能开罚单，那么，我可以很方便地处置掉十分之一的由劣等的和令人反感的种族组成的所有黑人同胞。如果我能把天主教徒归入另一个类别，拒绝他们，我的生活就会进一步简化。然后，我又再除去犹太人，事情就会更加简单。    

Ethnocentric people’s prejudice has an additional function. It fills their need for an out-group to blame for real and imagined problems in society. Take any problem—street crime, drug trafficking, corruption in government, political assassinations, labor strikes, pornography, rising food prices—and there is a ready-made villain to blame it on: The Jews are responsible—or the Italians, African Americans, or Hispanics. Ethnocentrics achieve instant diagnosis—it’s as easy as matching column a to column b. And they get a large target at which they can point their anger and fear and inadequacy and frustration.

种族中心主义的人的偏见还有另外的作用。它填补了他们在外部社会中对真正的和想象的问题的责备的需要。对待任何问题比如，街头犯罪、贩毒、政府腐败、政治暗杀、劳工罢工、色情、食品价格上涨，犹太人或者是意大利人、非裔美国人、西班牙裔应该是对此负责的罪魁祸首。种族中心主义者实现了即时诊断，就像把a列和b列连线一样简单，他们找到了一个大的目标，把他们的愤怒、恐惧、不足和沮丧发泄到他们身上。