The practice of giving preferential treatment to certain people over others, often based on personal preference rather than merit. In family systems, it creates lasting emotional wounds and sibling rivalry that can persist into adulthood.
From Latin 'favor' meaning 'goodwill' or 'support,' with the suffix '-ism' indicating a practice or system. The term evolved from political contexts to describe unfair preference-giving, later adopted in psychology to understand family dynamics and their lasting effects.
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