1. the tendency to put the needs, concerns, and perspective of the social unit or group before one’s individual, egocentric concerns. See also allocentric.

2. the practice of perceiving and interpreting situations from the point of view of the social group rather than from one’s personal perspective.

3. the tendency to judge one’s own group as superior to other groups across a variety of domains. Whereas ethnocentrism refers to the selective favoring of one’s ethnic, religious, racial, or national groups, sociocentrism usually means the favoring of smaller groups characterized by face-to-face interaction among members. Compare egocentrism. —sociocentric adj.