Cultural relativism is the same thing as ethnocentrism. the opposite of participant observation. a cultural particular, based upon the interrelatedness of humans. a cultural universal, based upon the human capacity to use symbols. the argument that behavior in a particular culture should not be judged by the standards of another culture.

In e. c. tolman's experiment, some rats were trained to run through mazes for standard food goals, while other rats were allowed to explore the mazes for 10 days without food goals or other rewards. later, when food rewards were placed in a box at the far end of the maze, the previously unrewarded rats reached the food box as quickly as the rewarded rats after only one or two trials. this experiment demonstrated that the rats had the ability to form of their surroundings.