Allocentrism – IResearchNet – What is Psychology?

Allocentrism is a personality trait that characterizes the attitudinal, cognitive, affective, and behavioral patterns and preferences shared among people of a collectivist culture˳ Among those who are allocentric, self is defined as more interdependent than independent; ingroup goals and harmony take priority over individual goals and autonomy˳ People who hold allocentric beliefs tend to value social norms, self-sacrifice, cooperation, equality, and relatedness more than social recognition, self-reliance, competition, equity, and rationality˳ Allocentrism is usually conceptualized as an end point of a continuum, with idiocentrism as the opposite construct˳ The individual levels of the allocentric and idiocentric tendencies correspond to the cultural dimensions of collectivism and individualism˳

Current Research

The theorization of allocentrism has sparked 2 decades of research on the relationship between allocentrism and other individual and contextual variables˳ Multimethod measures have been developed to assess various dimensions of allocentric tendencies, such as the INDCOL scale, individualism-collectivism scales, the Self-Construal Scale, value surveys, sentence completion exercises, and scenario stimuli˳

Research has demonstrated that there are more allocentrics than idiocentrics in collectivist cultures and vice versa˳ Women tend to be more allocentric than men across cultures˳ In the United States, racial and ethnic minorities appear to be more allocentric than White Americans˳ Among allocentrics, high self-esteem is related to self-efficacy in forming positive interpersonal relations˳ Allocentric persons reported having more and better social support than did idiocentrics˳ Moreover, they tend to transmit values such as obedience and obligations to their children˳ Allocentrics, compared to idiocentrics, also are more likely to perceive their group as homogeneous (regardless of how “homogeneous” the group actually is), which in turn may affect their behavioral patterns in a group setting (e˳g˳, workplace performance)˳

Allocentrism is a complex construct that is multidimensional in nature and context dependent˳ Allocentric tendencies can be vertical (i˳e˳, defining themselves as different from others and yet subordinate to the ingroup, thus likely to sacrifice for the interests of the group) or horizontal (i˳e˳, perceiving themselves to be the same as others within the group, thereby unlikely to self-sacrifice for ingroup goals)˳ Also, individual allocentric tendencies may differ depending on the tasks, groups, and settings˳ For example, a person may be a vertical allocentric at home and yet a horizontal allocentric at work˳ Furthermore, the strength of the relationship between allocentric tendencies and other psychosocial correlates (e˳g˳, subjective well-being) may vary depending on the level of collectivism or individualism within a given cultural context˳

Future Directions

Due to the contexualized multidimensional nature of the allocentric construct, individual allocentric tendencies may shift or intersect with a plethora of other factors, such as age, ethnic values, acculturation levels, socioeconomic status, religious/spiritual affiliation, sex roles, and situated contexts˳ Thus, conceptualizing and measuring allocentric and idiocentric tendencies as the end points of a single, bipolar continuum is a common practice, yet may be overly simplistic˳ Contemporary researchers have advocated the employment of multimethod and domain-specific approaches to assess the varying dimensions of allocentrism˳ At the same time, the use of myriad measurements for allocentrism also makes it difficult to interpret results˳ More longitudinal and qualitative research may provide better information about the complexity of this construct˳ Finally, the construct of allocentrism has significant implications for cross-cultural counseling˳ In working with clients, particularly those who identify with or whose values are influenced by a collectivist culture, counselors and psychologists should pay special attention to the potential impact of allocentric tendencies on psychosocial adjustment levels, work-family issues, and intergenerational or inter-group relations˳ Specifically, counselors should be aware that relationships with members of the ingroups play an essential role in the self-esteem and well-being of clients who subscribe to an allocentric perspective; counselors and mental health professionals may overpathologize allocentrics as “dependent,” without considering the cultural relevance and primacy of group-orientation versus self-orientation˳ Allocentrics may experience difficulties when pressured to compete and assert themselves in an individualist culture that values individual recognition over ingroup harmony˳ Also, because allocentric tendencies are multidimensional and context dependent, allocentric individuals may exhibit different behavioral patterns and value preferences when dealing with multiple ingroups in various settings (e˳g˳, sacrifice family for work or vice versa)˳ Younger generations who were reared by allocentric parents but grew up in an individualist society may face value conflicts and acculturation stress˳ Counselors should examine the cultural appropriateness of applying counseling theories and approaches that were developed in individualist contexts to working with allocentric clients˳ This will help counselors understand sources of conflicts and examine self-identity, as well as identify ways for clients to cope with acculturation stress˳

References:

1. Hui, C˳ H˳ (1988)˳ Measurement of individualism-collectivism˳ Journal of Research in Personality, 22(1), 17-36˳
2. Triandis, H˳ C˳ (1995)˳ Individualism and collectivism˳ Boulder, CO: Westview Press˳
3. Triandis, H˳ C˳ (2000)˳ Allocentrism-idiocentrism˳ In A˳ E˳ Kazdin (Ed˳), Encyclopedia of psychology (Vol˳ 1, pp˳ 118-119)˳ New York: Oxford University Press˳
4. Triandis, H˳ C˳, Leung, K˳, Villareal, M˳ J˳, & Clark, F˳ L˳ (1985)˳ Allocentric versus idiocentric tendencies: Convergent and discriminant validity˳ Journal of Research in Personality, 19, 395-415˳

See also:

• Counseling Psychology
• Multicultural Counseling