Allophilia Explained

In sociology, allophilia is having a positive attitude towards outgroup members. The outgroup members can be anyone who possesses characteristics that are different from one's own, such as people of different races, religions, cultures, etc. It is a framework for understanding effective intergroup leadership and is conceptualized as a measurable state of mind with tangible consequences.[1] [2]

Terminology

The term allophilia was coined by Harvard professor Todd Pittinsky in 2006, after he was unable to find an antonym for prejudice in any dictionary.[3] The term derived from Greek words meaning "liking or love of the other".[4]

Statistical factors

  1. affection,
  2. comfort,
  3. engagement,
  4. enthusiasm,
  5. kinship.

The allophilia scale measures each of these factors.[5] [6] It has been adapted and validated to other languages such as Italian and Spanish, also to various settings, such as to measure positive attitude toward people with dementia, younger and older adults.[7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Prejudice and positive intergroup relations

The typical remedy for prejudice is to bring conflicting groups into a state of tolerance. However, tolerance is not the logical antithesis of prejudice, but rather is the midpoint between negative feelings and positive feelings toward others. Allophilia enhancement should serve as complement to prejudice reduction.[12] [13] [14]

Allophilia predicts positive relationships with outgroup members. For instance, a study in Spain shows that students having higher allophilia had lower social distance toward people with obesity.[15] Besides, positive experience with outgroup members may increase allophilia, as it is shown in a longitudinal study of a cook's tour in Vietnam. In that study, the participants, who were Americans, reported positive feelings toward Vietnamese mirroring Allophilia facets in nearly 10 years after the event.[16]

In one study, symhedonia (experiencing empathic joy) has been shown to be more closely associated with allophilia, while sympathy (experiencing empathic sorrow) has been shown to be more strongly associated with prejudice.[12]

See also

External links

Article about Allophilia by the Boston Globe

Notes and References

  1. News: Allophilia—a new framework for understanding effective intergroup leadership. Todd Pittinsky. Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School. 18 June 2013. dead. https://archive.today/20130620034033/http://www.centerforpublicleadership.org/?option=com_content&task=emailform&id=267&itemid=2. 20 June 2013.
  2. News: Positive prejudice: Really loving your neighbour . The Economist. 15 March 2007 . 18 June 2013.
  3. News: Otherly Love: The Law of Dissimilars. Ashley Pettus. . January 2006 . 18 June 2013.
  4. Pittinsky . Todd L. . A two-dimensional model of intergroup leadership: The case of national diversity . American Psychologist . 2010 . 65 . 3 . 194–200 . 10.1037/a0017329 . 20350018 .
  5. News: Allophilia: Beyond tolerance lies true respect. Sheema Khan. . 28 February 2013 . 18 June 2013.
  6. Book: Pittinsky . T. L. . Rosenthal . S. A. . Montoya . R. M. . 2011 . Measuring positive attitudes toward outgroups: Development and validation of the Allophilia Scale . L. R. . Tropp . R. K. . Mallett . Moving beyond prejudice reduction: Pathways to positive intergroup relations . 41–60 . American Psychological Association . 10.1037/12319-002 . 978-1-4338-0928-6 .
  7. Alfieri . Sara . Marta . Elena . Positive attitudes towards the outgroup: adaptation and validation of the allophilia scale . TPM . 2011 . 18 . 2 . 99–116 . 10807/13381 .
  8. Alfieri. S.. Marta. E.. 2011. Positive attitudes toward the outgroup: adaptation and validation of the Allophilia scale. Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology. 18. 99–116.
  9. Magallares . Alejandro . Morales . Jose Francisco . Spanish adaptation of the Allophilia Scale . Anales de Psicología . 31 March 2017 . 33 . 2 . 283–291 . 10.6018/analesps.33.2.242021 . free .
  10. Kinney . Jennifer M . Yamashita . Takashi . Brown . J Scott . Measuring positive attitudes toward persons with dementia: A validation of the Allophilia scale . Dementia . 17 February 2016 . 16 . 8 . 1045–1060 . 10.1177/1471301216633247 . 26892304 . 25179675 .
  11. Wagner . Lisa S. . Luger . Tana M. . Assessing positive attitudes toward older and younger adults . Educational Gerontology . 20 December 2016 . 43 . 3 . 147–165 . 10.1080/03601277.2016.1272890 . 152164924 .
  12. Pittinsky . Todd L. . Montoya . R. Matthew . Sympathy e symhedonia nelle relazioni intergruppi. Dispiacere empatico e gioia empatica in rapporto a pregiudizio e allofilia . Sympathy and symhedonia in intergroup relations: The relationship of empathic sorrow and empathic joy to prejudice and allophilia . it . Psicologia Sociale . 2009 . 4 . 3 . 347–364 . 10.1482/30689 .
  13. Pittinsky . Todd L. . Allophilia: Moving beyond Tolerance in the Classroom . Childhood Education . June 2009 . 85 . 4 . 212–215 . 10.1080/00094056.2009.10523083 . 145106950 .
  14. Pittinsky . Todd L. . Look Both Ways . Phi Delta Kappan . January 2009 . 90 . 5 . 363–364 . 10.1177/003172170909000511 . 143888645 .
  15. Magallares . Alejandro . Predictors of Social Distance Toward People with Obesity: The Role of Allophilia . International Review of Social Psychology . 2 May 2017 . 30 . 1 . 102–110 . 10.5334/irsp.110 . free .
  16. Livert . David . A Cook's Tour Abroad: Long-Term Effects of Intergroup Contact on Positive Outgroup Attitudes . Journal of Social Issues . September 2016 . 72 . 3 . 524–547 . 10.1111/josi.12180 .

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