What concept refers to viewing people’s behaviors through the lens of their own culture?

The concept that refers to viewing people's behaviors through the lens of their own culture is cultural relativism. This principle emphasizes understanding and interpreting behaviors, values, and beliefs within the cultural context they originate from, rather than judging them through the standards of another culture.

Cultural relativism encourages an appreciation of cultural differences and promotes tolerance, as it recognizes that practices considered normal or appropriate in one culture may appear strange or inappropriate in another. By using cultural relativism as a framework, sociologists and anthropologists can gain deeper insights into social behaviors and norms, allowing them to avoid ethnocentrism—where one views their own culture as superior.

This concept contrasts sharply with notions like cultural transmission, which is about how culture is passed down from one generation to another; counterculture, which refers to groups that reject and oppose societal norms; and the correspondence principle, which relates to the ways educational institutions reinforce social stratification. Each of these terms addresses different aspects of culture and society, but cultural relativism specifically focuses on understanding behaviors in their own cultural contexts.