allocentric
Syllables: al·lo·centr·icUK/ˌælə(ʊ)ˈsɛntɹɪk/US/ˌæloʊˈsɛntɹɪk/
allocentric adjective: concerned with the interests of others more than one's own; community-minded.
Adjective
allocentric (comparative more allocentric, superlative most allocentric)
- Concerned with the interests of others more than one's own; community-minded.
- Synonyms:
- altruistic, exocentric, generous, geocentric, selfless
- Antonyms:
- autocentric, egocentric, idiocentric, self-absorbed, self-centered, selfish
- 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").
- Of a tourist: tending to be adventurous and preferring novel and unfamiliar experiences.
- [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...1995, Robert Madrigal, “Personal Values, Traveler Personality Type, and Leisure Travel Style”, in Journal of Leisure Research, volume 27, number 2, Arlington, Va.: National Recreation and Park...
- [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.1999, K. K. Sharma, “Tourism Psychology and Motivation”, in Tourism and Culture, New Delhi: Prabhat Kumar Sharma for Sarup & Sons, published 2004, →ISBN, page 189
Noun
allocentric (plural allocentrics)
- A tourist who tends to be adventurous and to prefer novel and unfamiliar experiences.
- 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...1995, Robert Madrigal, “Personal Values, Traveler Personality Type, and Leisure Travel Style”, in Journal of Leisure Research, volume 27, number 2, Arlington, Va.: National Recreation and Park...
- 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.[2001, Doris S. Davidoff, Philip G. Davidoff, Donald M. Davidoff, Douglas G. Davidoff, “The Classic Motivation Mistake”, in Parenting the Office, Gretna, New Orleans, La.: Pelican Publishing Company...
Examples of allocentric in a sentence
- In contrast, allocentric individuals tend to be self-confident, intellectually curious, and feel in control of their lives.1995, Robert Madrigal, “Personal Values, Traveler Personality Type, and Leisure Travel Style”, in Journal of Leisure Research, volume 27...
- Remember that whether a tourist is more psychocentric or more allocentric depends on the different motivations and the different destinations chosen by the tourist.2003, “Tourism Motivation and Behaviour”, in Berendien Lubbe, editor, Tourism Management in Southern Africa, Cape Town, Western Cape...
- 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.2020, Peter Robinson, Michael Lück, Stephen L. J. Smith, “Responsible Tourism Management”, in Tourism, 2nd edition, Wallingford...
- In contrast, allocentrics enjoy vacations to exotic and unique destinations, and prefer to travel independently (i.e., not as part of group tours).1995, Robert Madrigal, “Personal Values, Traveler Personality Type, and Leisure Travel Style”, in Journal of Leisure Research, volume 27...
Synonyms of allocentric
Antonyms
Forms of allocentric
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more allocentric |
| superlative | most allocentric |
| Noun | |
| plural | allocentrics |
Origin of allocentric
The adjective is derived from allo- (prefix meaning ‘different; other’) + -centric (suffix meaning ‘having a specified object at the centre, or as the focus of attention’). Sense 3 (‘of a tourist: tending to be adventurous’) was coined by the American travel researcher Stanley C. Plog in a paper presented to the Southern California Chapter of the Travel Research Association on 10 October 1972, which was later published in February 1974. The noun is probably derived from the adjective.
Words formed from allocentric
Words that rhyme with allocentric
- eccentric
- centric
- egocentric
- bicentric
- concentric
- excentric
- geocentric
- heliocentric
- psychocentric
- acentric
- Americocentric
- Croatocentric
11 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about allocentric
- What does allocentric mean?
- Allocentric means concerned with the interests of others more than one's own; community-minded.
- How do you use allocentric in a sentence?
- In contrast, allocentric individuals tend to be self-confident, intellectually curious, and feel in control of their lives.
- What part of speech is allocentric?
- Allocentric can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce allocentric?
- Allocentric is pronounced /ˌælə(ʊ)ˈsɛntɹɪk/ (UK).
Words near allocentric in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: allocentric (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “allocentric.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/allocentric. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.