[5][6] They tend to have a sense of duty and share beliefs with other allocentrics among their in-group.
[8] Additionally, allocentrism has been defined as giving priority to the collective self over the private self, particularly if these two selves happen to come into conflict.
"[12] It was not until much later (1985) that Triandis, Leung, Villareal, and Clack proposed that the term allocentrism be used to describe collectivistic tendencies on the individual level.
They prefer self-reliance, to make their own decisions without worrying about what others think, and enjoy competition.
These situations include when people are rewarded by the social context for being group orientated, when cultural norms encourage conformity which leads to success, when goals are easier achieved through group action, and when there are not many options for acting independently.
[18] When researchers measure collectivism, they tend to use large scale studies that look at the cultural level.
[19] This can be confusing when trying to measure collectivism on an individual level, which is why the term allocentrism has been suggested.
Triandis et al., 1995 Allocentrism has been measured utilizing The Collectivism Scale in three cultures—Korean, Japanese, and American—and found to have good concurrent and criterion validity and acceptable reliability (Cronbach's Alpha .77-.88).
It is a ten item, five point Likert scale that assesses how much an individual acts in his or her own self-interest versus his or her group's interest.
[32] There are certain personality dimensions that all allocentrics share despite whether they are from an individualistic (American) or collectivistic (Japanese and Korean) culture.
These dimensions include high affiliation with others, being sensitive to rejection from others, and less of a need for individual uniqueness.
[33] For allocentrics, the situation is of paramount importance and they tend to define themselves relative to the context.
Even when allocentrics are living in a more individualistic culture, they still will put more emphasis on relationships than idiocentrics through joining groups such as gangs, churches, and collectives.
[38] This could possibly be because some of the important values of allocentrics are cooperation, honesty, and equality.
[42] Allocentrics tend to be less lonely, receive more social support (and are more satisfied with it), and are more cooperative than idiocentrics.
[46] North Americans whose lifestyles are more allocentric tend to have higher subjective well-being than those whose life styles are idiocentric.
People who are in allocentrics’ in-group are considered much closer than out-group members who are put at a much larger social distance.
[49] Allocentrics tend to minimize with-in group differences while preferring equal outcomes in social dilemmas.
[50] Allocentric people tend to be more consumer ethnocentric (the tendency to prefer the products on their own countries when shopping).
This study found that allocentrism with parents was positively correlated with higher CET.
The term allocentrism has also been used in the travel field to have a different meaning from the way it is used in the psychological research.
They tend to be curious, confident, seek out novelty, and prefer to travel by plane and alone.
[52] American and Japanese college students who reported being more horizontally individualistic tended to prefer more allocentric destinations.
Allocentrism and consumer ethnocentrism: The effects of social identity on purchase intention.
Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment.
Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications, Inc. Trafimow, D., Triandis, H. C., & Goto, S. G. (1991).
Washington New York, DC NY, US US: American Psychological Association Oxford University Press.
Allocentric vs. idiocentric social behavior : A major cultural difference between Hispanics and the mainstream.