Allophilia—positive attitudes for a group that is not one's own—is a term derived from Greek words meaning "liking or love of the other" (Pittinsky, 2005). Studied by social scientists, allophilia is the antonym of negative prejudices and the antonym of a host of "–isms": sexism, racism, heterosexism, ageism, anti-Semitism, elitism/classism, and phallocentrism. Allophilia can be felt towards members of a different race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, class, nationality, school, team, or workplace (occupation).
Allophilia has five statistical factors: 1. kinship, 2. engagement, 3. affection, 4. comfort, and 5. enthusiasm (Pittinsky & Rosenthal, 2006). The Allophilia Scale measures each of these factors.
The image below locates allophilia vis-à-vis its related constructs of prejudice and tolerance. 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. The introduction of allophilia—positive intergroup attitudes—as an anchor, identifies a new domain for theory, research, and practice: allophilia enhancement.
See also
References
- Pittinsky, T. L. (2005). Allophilia and intergroup leadership. In N. Huber & M. Walker (Eds.), Building Leadership Bridges: Emergent Models of Global Leadership. College Park, Maryland: International Leadership Association.
- Pittinsky, T. L. & Rosenthal, S. A. (2006). Moving Beyond Tolerance: Factors and Measurement of Allophilia. Manuscript in preparation.
- Compass: A Journal of Leadership article, Tolerance Is Not Enough: Allophilia—a framework for effective intergroup leadership
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