Cultural Indicators of Intercultural Interaction: Comparing Level of Ethnocentrism of Lithuanian and Japanese Students)

Both extremly high and low ethnocentrism are not favorable. Extremely high level of ethnocentosm is concidered to be harmful because the belief the own cultural features should be adopted by choice or by force by other people. Offensive ethnocentrism can be dangerous and lead to pathological forms of ethnocentrism that result in prejudice, discrimination, and even ethnic cleansing (Akkari and Radhouane, 2022; Goncz, 2018). Absolute (or radical) cultural relativism consists of justifing and accepting all behaviours, lack of consideration. It encourages the right to isolation and an overidealization of cultures. High levels of ethnocentrism seem to create serious barriers to interultural communication. A higher level of ethnocentrism reflects a lower level of intercultural competence (Bennett, 2009; Neuliep, Chaudoir, and McCroskey, 2001). It is believed that ethnocentrism is tobe confronted in developing intercultural communication competence (Goncalves et al., 2020). Identifying level of ethnocentrism can be useful in terms of learning about cultural differences, encouraging acceptance of cultural diversity, managing and reducing conflicts, reducing intolerance for outgroups. Moreover, it is also important to obtain data from more diverse cultures. Neuliep and colleagues (2001) have pointed out that research should examine the cultural indicators for clues as to what aspects of a culture are likely to lead to higher or lower ethnocentrism. JEL Codes: Z10, Z13, F22 Keywords: ethnocentrism, intercultural competence, students, Japan, Lithuania.