Ethnocentrism occurs when members of a certain culture believe that their customs and values are the ideal. This can include how people view their ethnic group, religion or country. When people engage in ethnocentrism, this affects their perception of other groups, and they tend to favor those who are members of their own group. Although ethnocentrism can be positive, because it makes people feel proud of their culture, it can also lead people to believe that members of other cultures are inferior to them.
Stereotyping occurs when members of one group make assumptions about the characteristics of members of another group. Sometimes this occurs when people engage in defensive projection, meaning that they see undesirable qualities in other people that they are afraid they possess themselves. Oftentimes people are not aware that they have these stereotypes, until they are confronted with communicating with members of different groups. This type of communication can cause people to ignore the positive qualities of other groups and respond to people in a negative way.
Tolerance occurs when members of different cultural groups have contact with one another and accept one another and their differences. When tolerance occurs, people from different backgrounds do not feel they must compete with one another or compare their group to another group in order to elevate themselves. Also, tolerance causes members of different cultural groups to work toward common goals in their communities and think of one another as equals.
Polarization occurs when members of a group promote an "us versus them" mentality about other cultural groups. Anger can fill this type of communication, and as a result it often leads to violence against members of the other group. Misinformation can also fuel polarization. Members of a certain group might spread misinformation to inflame like-minded individuals.