Allophilia

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Allophilia scale Allophilia Scale.svg
Allophilia scale

In sociology, allophilia is the phenomenon of having a positive attitude towards members of an out-group. The out-group member can be anyone who possesses characteristics that are different from one's own (the in-group), such as a person who does not belong to the same race or ethnicity, culture, or religion. It is a framework for understanding effective inter-group leadership and is conceptualized as a measurable state of mind with tangible consequences. [1] [2]

Contents

The allophilia scale measures affection, comfort, engagement, enthusiasm, and kinship. [3] [4] It has been adapted and validated to other languages like Italian and Spanish and also to various settings, such as to measure positive attitude toward people with dementia, as well as younger and older adults. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Allophilia predicts positive relationships with out-group members. For instance, a study in Spain shows that students having higher allophilia had lower social distance towards people with obesity. [10] Besides, positive experience with out-group 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. [11] In one study, symhedonia (experiencing empathic joy) has been shown to be more closely associated with increased levels of allophilia, while sympathy (experiencing empathic sorrow) has been shown to be more strongly associated with decreased levels of prejudice. [12] Allophilia enhancement can serve as complement to prejudice reduction. [12] [13]

Terminology

The term allophilia was coined by Professor Todd Pittinsky of Harvard University in 2006 after he was unable to find an antonym for prejudice in any dictionary. [14] [ disputed – discuss ] The term derived from Greek words meaning "liking or love of the other." [15]

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. [16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Todd Pittinsky. "Allophilia—a new framework for understanding effective intergroup leadership". Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School . Retrieved 18 June 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  2. ↑ "Positive prejudice: Really loving your neighbour". The Economist . 15 March 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  3. ↑ Sheema Khan (28 February 2013). "Allophilia: Beyond tolerance lies true respect". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  4. ↑ Pittinsky, T. L.; Rosenthal, S. A.; Montoya, R. M. (2011). "Measuring positive attitudes toward outgroups: Development and validation of the Allophilia Scale". In Tropp, L. R.; Mallett, R. K. (eds.). Moving beyond prejudice reduction: Pathways to positive intergroup relations. American Psychological Association. pp. 41–60. doi:10.1037/12319-002. ISBN   978-1-4338-0928-6.
  5. ↑ Alfieri, Sara; Marta, Elena (2011). "Positive attitudes towards the outgroup: adaptation and validation of the allophilia scale" (PDF). TPM. 18 (2): 99–116. hdl:10807/13381.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ Magallares, Alejandro; Morales, Jose Francisco (31 March 2017). "Spanish adaptation of the Allophilia Scale". Anales de Psicología. 33 (2): 283–291. doi: 10.6018/analesps.33.2.242021 .
  8. ↑ Kinney, Jennifer M; Yamashita, Takashi; Brown, James Scott (17 February 2016). "Measuring positive attitudes toward persons with dementia: A validation of the Allophilia scale". Dementia. 16 (8): 1045–1060. doi:10.1177/1471301216633247. PMID   26892304. S2CID   25179675.
  9. ↑ Wagner, Lisa S.; Luger, Tana M. (20 December 2016). "Assessing positive attitudes toward older and younger adults". Educational Gerontology. 43 (3): 147–165. doi:10.1080/03601277.2016.1272890. S2CID   152164924.
  10. ↑ Magallares, Alejandro (2 May 2017). "Predictors of Social Distance Toward People with Obesity: The Role of Allophilia". International Review of Social Psychology. 30 (1): 102–110. doi: 10.5334/irsp.110 .
  11. ↑ Livert, David (September 2016). "A Cook's Tour Abroad: Long-Term Effects of Intergroup Contact on Positive Outgroup Attitudes". Journal of Social Issues. 72 (3): 524–547. doi:10.1111/josi.12180.
  12. 1 2 Pittinsky, Todd L.; Montoya, R. Matthew (2009). "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]. Psicologia Sociale (in Italian). 4 (3): 347–364. doi:10.1482/30689.
  13. ↑ Pittinsky, Todd L. (January 2009). "Look Both Ways". Phi Delta Kappan. 90 (5): 363–364. doi:10.1177/003172170909000511. S2CID   143888645.
  14. ↑ Ashley Pettus (January 2006). "Otherly Love: The Law of Dissimilars". Harvard Magazine . Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  15. ↑ Pittinsky, Todd L. (2010). "A two-dimensional model of intergroup leadership: The case of national diversity". American Psychologist. 65 (3): 194–200. doi:10.1037/a0017329. PMID   20350018.
  16. ↑ Pittinsky, Todd L. (June 2009). "Allophilia: Moving beyond Tolerance in the Classroom". Childhood Education. 85 (4): 212–215. doi:10.1080/00094056.2009.10523083. S2CID   145106950.
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