Egocentrism, ethnocentrism, and altrocentrism: factors in individual and intergroup violence

Egocentrism and ethnocentrism are considered as cognitive biases which foster violence at both individual and group levels. Each is characterized as a lack of empathy or an inability to see reality as it appears to others. Altrocentrism is conceptualized as a more mature, socialized form of perceiving in which the individual can understand another person because he sees the facts as they appear to the other. Adolescents tend to see policemen and teachers as hostile and threatening because they cannot empathize with the roles of these authority figures. Evidence indicates that violent behavior is associated with egocentric and ethnocentric thinking. Devices such as role-playing, stating the case of the other, fantasy, and the culture-assimilator foster altrocentric thinking, and some evidence indicates that they reduce the frequency of resort to violence. Cross-cultural education must begin use of such procedures if we are to minimize domestic and international violence.