Allophilia
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Allophilia is a neologism invented by American Jewish sociologist Todd Lowell Pittinsky, which is described as having positive attitude for a group that is not one's own. The term derived from Greek words meaning "liking or love of the other".[1]
Studied by social scientists, allophilia is the antonym of negative prejudices and the antonym of a host of "–isms": sexism, racism, speciesism, heterosexism, ageism, anti-Semitism, and elitism/classism; and "-phobias": homophobia, islamophobia, xenophobia, etc. Allophilia can be felt towards members of a different race, sex, species, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, class, nationality, school, team, or workplace.
Allophilia has five statistical factors:
- kinship,
- engagement,
- affection,
- comfort,
- enthusiasm.
The Allophilia Scale measures each of these factors.[2]
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. [3][4][5]
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. [3]
See also
References
- ^ Pittinsky, T. L. (2010). A two-dimensional theory of intergroup leadership: The case of national diversity. American Psychologist, 65(3), 194-200.
- ^ Pittinsky, T. L., Rosenthal, S. A., & Montoya, R. M. (2010). Measuring positive attitudes toward outgroups: Development and Validation of the Allophilia Scale. In L. Tropp & R. Mallett (Eds.), Beyond Prejudice Reduction: Pathways to Positive Intergroup Relations. Washington, D. C.: American Psychological Association.
- ^ a b Pittinsky, T. L., & Montoya, R. M. (2009). Symhedonia in intergroup relations: The relationship of empathic joy to prejudice and allophilia. Psicologia Sociale, 3, 347–364.
- ^ Pittinsky, T. L. (2009). Allophilia: Moving beyond tolerance in the classroom. Childhood Education, 85(4), 212–215.
- ^ Pittinsky, T. L. (2009). Look both ways. Phi Delta Kappan, 90(5), 363–364.
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