Abstract
A model of desociocentering, decentering relative to the social group, is formulated. Sociocentrism, the centering on the position, perspective, or actions of one’s group, is a cognitive-developmental conceptualization of ethnocentrism; desociocentering is a cognitive-developmental model of the process of lessening ethnocentrism. The model is based on Piaget’s research and theory concerning the process of decentering. Cognitive structures within a cycle from centration to decentration are analyzed. Based on this analysis, four stages of desociocentering are proposed: (a) a stage of nondifferentiation (naive sociocentrism); (b) a stage of differentiation (simplistic differentiation of disparate groups); (c) a stage of correspondence (desociocentering stage of correspondence), and (d) a stage of coordination (reciprocity of social groups). The phenomena of vertical décalage and horizontal décalage are inferred to operate in the desociocentering context.