Cultural Dimensions: Collectivism/Individualism (G. Hofstede)
Transcript of Cultural Dimensions: Collectivism/Individualism (G. Hofstede)
“Why should people in one part of the globe have developed collectivist cultures,while others went individualist? The key is how culture is shaped by the way peopletraditionally made a living, which in turn is shaped by ecology. In East Asia it's allabout rice. Rice requires massive amounts of communal work. Not just backbreakingplanting and harvesting, which are done in rotation because the entire village isneeded to harvest each family's rice."
- Robert M. Sapolsky -
https://courses.muditaconsultancy.com/
Cultural Dimensions: Collectivism/Individualism (G. Hofstede)
https://courses.muditaconsultancy.com/
Include (but are not limited to) mostLatin-American, Southern European,Middle-Easterner, Asian, Africancountries, tribal communities aroundthe world.
Include (but are not limited to) mostWestern societies: English-, Germanspeaking countries, Scandinaviancountries, other central and northernEuropean countries.
IndividualisticCultures
CollectivistCultures
Cultural Dimensions: Collectivism/Individualism (G. Hofstede)
https://courses.muditaconsultancy.com/
Cultural Dimensions: Collectivism/Individualism (G. Hofstede)
Individualistic Cultures: I
Focus is on personal priorities and self-realization.People emphasize
individual freedom and achievements
Independence and self-reliance are highly valued.
People are expected totake care of themselvesand a few loved ones
and to take responsibility for the outcomes
Private life isimportant andunlikely to be
"intruded" by othermembers of the
groups individualsbelong to
Self-concepts are based on personal traits rather than social
roles ("I am kind" vs "Iam a good son" typical
of collectivist societies)
Individualistic Cultures: I
https://courses.muditaconsultancy.com/
Cultural Dimensions: Collectivism/Individualism (G. Hofstede)
Confrontation is accepted, peopleare encouraged to
express theiropinions and to be
assertive
People in individualistic
cultures (typicallyWestern societies)
appear to be happier than those
in collectivist cultures
Happiness is reserved for those
who aresuccessful or perceive
themselves assuch
Work is seen as a key factor to
happiness in termsof pleasant feelings,
satisfyingjudgments,
self-validation
Collectivist Cultures: WE
Collective interest is more important
than personal interest.The focus is on
preserving harmonyand respecting
hierarchy within thecommunity
Members of collectivecultures are highlylikely to practice
extreme self-control,since they are fully
aware that their wordsand actions have an
impact on others
Group oriented(family, extended
family, tribe,organization, etc).
The group takes careof individuals,
individuals are loyalto the group they
belong to
https://courses.muditaconsultancy.com/
Cultural Dimensions: Collectivism/Individualism (G. Hofstede)
One’s identity andreputation is
defined in terms ofsocial roles ("I am
a good son")
https://courses.muditaconsultancy.com/
Cultural Dimensions: Collectivism/Individualism (G. Hofstede)
Collectivist Cultures: WE
Relationships areusually formed
within the groupmembers belong
to, ofteninaccessible to
outsiders
Selflessness andconformity are
valued, personalachievements are likely
to be portrayed as aresult of external factors
rather than personal merit
Non-verbalcommunication is
common and aimed atpreventing a "loss of
face" (public humiliationand embarrassment)
from happening
Communicationdoes heavily rely
on context. "I" is a not
commonly usedword
https://courses.muditaconsultancy.com/
Cultural Dimensions: Collectivism/Individualism (The Globe study)
The Globe study (House & Javidan, 2004) makes a distinction between Institutionaland In-group Collectivism:
In-group Collectivism is “the degree towhich individuals express pride, loyalty,and cohesiveness in theirorganizations or families”. Societiesthat score high on In-groupCollectivism and (relatively) low onInstitutional collectivism can be foundin Latin America, in Eastern Europe, inSub-Saharan Africa, in the Middle East,in Latin Europe. Institutional Collectivism is “the degree
to which organizational and societalinstitutional practices encourage andreward collective distribution ofresources and collective action”. Nordiccountries (Nordic cluster) are anexample of societies that score high onInstitutional Collectivism and low on In-group collectivism.
In individualistic societies, the maintool of social control is guilt (note:guilt cultures are also knows asdignity cultures).
https://courses.muditaconsultancy.com/
"Guilt is a feeling that arises when weviolate the absolute standards ofmorality within us, when we violate ourconscience. A person may suffer fromguilt although no one else knows of hisor her misdeed; this feeling of guilt isrelieved by confessing the misdeed andmaking restitution. True guilt culturesrely on an internalized conviction of sinas the enforcer of good behaviour, not,as shame cultures do, on externalsanctions. Guilt cultures emphasizepunishment and forgiveness as ways ofrestoring the moral order".
(Paul Hiebert)
Cultural Dimensions: Collectivism/Individualism - Tools of Social Control
https://courses.muditaconsultancy.com/
"Shame is a reaction to other people'scriticism, an acute personal chagrin at ourfailure to live up to our obligations and theexpectations others have of us. In trueshame-oriented cultures, every person has aplace and a duty in the society. Onemaintains self-respect, not by choosing whatis good rather than what is evil, but bychoosing what is expected of one. Personaldesires are sunk in the collective expectation.Those who fail will often turn their aggressionagainst themselves instead of using violenceagainst others. By punishing themselves theymaintain their self-respect before others, forshame cannot be relieved, as guilt can be, byconfession and atonement. Shame isremoved and honour restored only when aperson does what the society expects of himor her in the situation".
(Paul Hiebert)
Cultural Dimensions: Collectivism/Individualism - Tools of Social Control
In collectivist societies, the maintool of social control is shame(there are however significantdifferences between face culturesand honor-shame cultures. Seenext slide for details).
A 2010 study suggest that while in Confucian-based collectivist societies peoplebehave modestly in order to preserve harmony within the group, "honor basedcollectivism does not highlight modesty but rather emphasizes the public nature ofself-worth and the need to protect and maintain honor through positivepresentation of oneself and in-group members".
Honor-shame societies are typical ofthe Mediterranean region, LatinAmerica, the Middle East, Africa,South-East Asia, Eastern Europe.
https://courses.muditaconsultancy.com/
Cultural Dimensions: Collectivism/Individualism - Tools of Social Control
Shame/face societies are typical ofthe Confucian-Asia cluster.
SOURCES
https://courses.muditaconsultancy.com/
Hofstede, Geert (2001). Culture's Consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations acrossnations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA
Hofstede, Geert H. (1997). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. New York: McGraw-Hill
Ye D, Ng YK, Lian Y. Culture and Happiness. Soc Indic Res. 2014;123(2):519-547
Diener, E., & Diener, M. (1995). Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Journal of Personality andSocial Psychology, 68, 653-663
Lu, L. (2001). Understanding Happiness: A Look into the Chinese Folk Psychology. Journal of Happiness Studies 2(4), p.407-432. DOI: 10.1023/A:1013944228205
Oishi S., & Diener E. (2001). Goals, culture, and subjective well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1674-1682
Hiebert, Paul G. (1985). Anthropological Insights for Missionaries. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House
House, R., Hanges, P., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. and Gupta, V., 2004. Culture, leadership, and organizations. ThousandOaks, Calif.: Sage Publications
Uskul, A. K., Oyserman, D., & Schwarz, N. (2010). Cultural emphasis on honor, modesty, or self-enhancement: Implicationsfor the survey-response process. In J. A. Harkness, M. Braun, B. Edwards, T. P. Johnson, L. Lyberg, P. P. Mohler, B.-E.Pennell, & T. W. Smith (Eds.), Wiley series in survey methodology. Survey methods in multinational, multiregional, andmulticultural contexts (p. 191–201). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470609927.ch11
Disclosure: This section contains affiliate links. If you were to buy any of the books listed here, I would earn a smallcommission (at no additional cost to you).