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Dr. Octasiano Miguel Valerio Mendoza gave a seminar on: "Shaping societal attitudes towards the impoverished"

Release： June 6, 2025 Update： June 10, 2025

Dr. Octasiano Miguel Valerio Mendoza, Associate Professor at Ramon Llull University, Spain, recently led a seminar titled "Shaping Societal Attitudes Towards the Impoverished," where he explored the concept of aporophobia, the fear or rejection of poor individuals, introduced by Spanish philosopher Adela Cortina. Aporophobia often manifests as discriminatory attitudes toward the poor, significantly shaping public opinion and influencing policymaking. Dr. Valerio Mendoza explained how aporophobia intersects with other social biases, such as xenophobia, and how these prejudices impact public policy and marginalised communities.

The term gained national attention in Spain in 2017 and is now being referenced in the country's Criminal Code. Dr. Valerio Mendoza's research team has expanded the concept, showing that xenophobia is often directed at poor migrants rather than wealthy ones. To further study these dynamics, they are developing tools like the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to measure unconscious bias and integrating aporophobia into policy analysis.

Graduate students from the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science (GPSS) participated in the IAT, raising critical questions about its application and sharing country-specific feedback to guide the direction of aporophobia research. Faculty members also provided constructive suggestions to improve the research and methods.

Dr. Valerio Mendoza also emphasised the importance of integrating social justice into sustainability efforts, ensuring that the benefits of sustainable transitions are inclusive and address systemic inequalities faced by impoverished communities.