Allocentric

/ˌælə(ʊ)ˈsɛntɹɪk/ · adjective

Meaning

Concerned with the interests of others more than one's own; community-minded..

Definitions by Sense

1. Concerned with the interests of others more than one's own; community-minded.
2. Of spatial representations: linked to a reference frame based on the external environment and independent of one's current location in it (for example, giving a direction as "north" as opposed to "right").
3. (also tourism) Of a tourist: tending to be adventurous and preferring novel and unfamiliar experiences.
4. (psychology, tourism) A tourist who tends to be adventurous and to prefer novel and unfamiliar experiences.

Example Sentences

[Stanley C.] Plog (1974, 1990, 1991b) delineated personality types along a continuum ranging from allocentrism to psychocentrism. The psychocentric personality type tends toward territory boundedness, insecurity, and powerlessness. Psychocentric individuals also tend to have non-active lifestyles and are non-adventurous. In contrast, allocentric individuals tend to be self-confident, intellectually curious, and feel in control of their lives.

[P]sychocentrics could conceivably vacation in essentially allocentric destinations (with the exception of people with extremely low incomes). For instance, a psychocentric may travel to a remote area under the security of a completely planned, fully escorted tour.

Remember that whether a tourist is more psychocentric or more allocentric depends on the different motivations and the different destinations chosen by the tourist. The tourist may also oscillate between both psychocentric and allocentric choices. For example, a tourist may choose an allocentric holiday in December to a remote game reserve, but have a psychocentric short break in July to Singapore, where he or she may prefer a package tour and will stick to the touristy areas of town.

[Stanley C.] Plog recognised that personalities change over time, and given time, the psychocentrics may become allocentric in their choice of holiday destination and activity as they gain experience of travel.

At the one extreme, psychocentrics are those travellers that are not adventurous, and seek amenities and culture similar to their home environment. At the other end of the continuum, an allocentric tourist is very adventurous, seeks and embraces different cultures, local food, and requires only basic tourism infrastructure.

According to [Stanley C.] Plog (1991b), psychocentrics tend to prefer a high degree of familiarity in their travel and, as a result, enjoy group or "packaged" tours. In contrast, allocentrics enjoy vacations to exotic and unique destinations, and prefer to travel independently (i.e., not as part of group tours).

Simply put, psychocentrics are at ease only when within their comfort zone, while allocentrics are driven to leave their comfort zone on a regular basis.

Another typology of tourists was introduced by [Stanley C.] Plog (1991), who used psychographic analysis to create a continuum of tourist types. While Plog's model is a continuum with indefinite points, he was able to divide tourists into five main groups: psychocentrics, near psychocentrics, midcentrics, near allocentrics, and allocentrics.

Synonyms for allocentric

Antonyms for allocentric

Related Words

Word Forms

• more allocentric
• most allocentric
• allocentrics

Usage Notes

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