The Potential Role of Individualistic versus

Collectivistic Values on Students’

Engagement in the Classroom

37th Annual EAIR Forum

Track 2

Kjera Seregi, Institutional Research, Kent State University

Maureen Blankemeyer, Education, Health and Human Services,

Kent State University

Culture

• “A shared meaning system, found among those who speak a particular language dialect, during a specific historic period, and in a definable geographic region. It functions to improve the adaptation of members of the culture to a particular ecology, and it includes the knowledge that people need to have in order to function effectively in their social environment”. (Triandis, 2002, p. 16)

• Cultural Dimensions (Hofstede, 2001; Hofstede et al., 2010)

– Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV)

– Power Distance (PDI)

– Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS)

– Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI)

– Long-Term versus Short-Term Orientation (LTO)

– Indulgence versus Restraint (IND)

Individualism-Collectivism

(IDV Dimension)

“Individualism stands for a society in which the ties between individuals are loose: Everyone is expected to look after him/herself and her/his immediate family only. Collectivism stands for a society in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty”

-Hofstede, 2001, p. 225

Attributes Associated with Individualism

or Collectivism (Triandis, 1994)

Individualism

• Goals to fit personal needs

• Self-enhancing

• Internal attributes

• Hedonism, self-direction

• State verbs

• Language requires I/you

• Display social loafing

• Perceive individuals- refugees’

stories

• Individual rewards

• Productivity, competition, self-

gain

Collectivism

• Attention to others’ needs

• Modest

• Letters of recommendation

• Tradition and Conformity

• Action verbs (context)

• Language doesn’t need I/you

• Dedicated to group goals

• Perceive situations, groups,

relationships – what’s happening

• Group based compensation

• Solidarity, harmony, cohesion

Individualism and Culture

IDV

• Can only be applied to cultures, not individuals (Hofstede, 2001)

• Will be understood from a person’s own background (King & McInerney, 2014)

– Many cultural analyses are designed and interpreted with a Western perspective

– WEIRD

IDV and this paper

• Consider how it impacts

the classroom culture

– Then consider (values)

motivation/engagement

literature from this

perspective

• Current perspective of

“more collectivism” in

individualistic societies

Background & Purpose

• Student engagement and motivation

• Ireland classroom

• More collectivism in highly individualistic

culture

Individualistic Cultures Value Being

• Above average

• Distinguished, standing out

• The best

• Encouraged by emphasizing your

(individual) value(Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Triandis, 1995; Neff, 2011)

Motivation and IDV

• “It is likely that individualists are motivated to prove to themselves that they have socially desirable attributes. That would pressure them toward high personal achievement.

• However, with respect to motivation, it is also relevant that attributions made by collectivists tend to emphasize effort as a determinant of performance, whereas individualists tend to use abilities as the major determinant.”

(Triandis, 1995, p. 73)

Mindset – Growth and Fixed (Dweck, 2006)

Growth Mindset

• You can achieve beyond

current abilities

• Necessarily means you

have room to improve

• Failures are opportunities

• Examples

Fixed Mindset

• Your talents are fixed; you

will remain where you are

• Encourages you to stay

where you perform well

• Feel an urgency to succeed

• Examples

IDV, Motivation & Mindset

Motivation and IDV

• However, with respect to

motivation, it is also

relevant that attributions

made by collectivists tend

to emphasize effort as a

determinant of

performance, whereas

individualists tend to use

abilities as the major

determinant.

Fixed & Growth Mindsets

• Growth mindset

– You can always improve

from your current state.

Mistakes are opportunities

to learn, work and improve.

• Fixed mindset

– Your talents and traits are

“fixed”.

IDV and Mindset through Independence &

Interdependence lens

Independent

• Sense of self is relatively

independent of others

and therefore invariant

over time and space

• “I am creative"

Interdependent

• Sense of self is most

complete when

connected with the in-

group

– Works to find place, “where

they belong” in the group

– Adjusts to harmoniously be

in the in-group

(Markus & Kitayama, 1991, p. 226-227)

Summary of Key Differences Between an Independent and an

Interdependent Construal of Self (Markus & Kitayama, 1991, p.231)

Feature Compared Independent Interdependent

DefinitionSeparate from social

context

Connected with social

context

StructureBounded, unitary,

stableFlexible, variable

Important features

Internal, private

(abilities, thoughts,

feelings)

External, public (statuses,

roles, relationships)

Tasks

• Be unique

• Express self

• Realize internal

attributes

• Promote own goals

• Be direct; "say what's

on your mind"

• Belong, fit-in

• Occupy one's proper place

• Engage in appropriate

action

• Promote others' goals

• Be indirect; "read other's

mind"

Summary of Key Differences Between an Independent and an

Interdependent Construal of Self - continued

Feature Compared Independent Interdependent

Role of Others

Self-evaluation: others

important for social

comparison, reflected

appraisal

Self-definition: relationships

with others in specific

contexts define the self

Basis of self-esteem

Ability to express self,

validate internal

attributes

Ability to adjust, restrain

self, maintain harmony with

social context

Downward Social Comparison Theory

• See others as worse than oneself

• Increase feelings of self-worth(Wheeler, 1991; Wills, 1991; Crocker et al., 1987)

• May prevent individuals from engaging

– Find self-worth in this comparison instead of

learning the material

– May encourage others not to put forth effort

for fear of “confirming” others’ opinions

*Consider individuals and in-groups

Engagement & Vulnerability

Engagement

• To engage is to occupy,

attract, or involve

(someone's interest or

attention) – www.oxfordictionaries.com

• In a classroom

– Asking questions

– Participating in

discussion/debate

– Actively improving

Vulnerability (Brown, 2013)

• The birthplace for

creativity, innovation and

change

• “Innovation crisis”

• In a classroom

– Asking questions

– Participating in

discussion/debate

– Actively improving

Individualism & Collectivism: Is One Better?

• Both can discourage from active participation in class– Not wanting to stand out and make a mistake

– Not wanting to stand out at all

• Both can discourage from trying something “new”/“different”– New – can’t be the best immediately

– Different isn’t maintaining role and responsibility in one’s group

• Both can encourage putting others down– Individual looks better

– In-group looks better

Additional Ways to Think About IDV and Engagement

• Personal Investment Theory (King &

McInerney, 2014)

• Social Interdependence Theory (Johnson &

Johnson, 2009)

• Horizontal and Vertical (Triandis, 2001)

• Achievement oriented (Vertical Individualism)

• Unique (Horizontal Individualism)

• Dutiful (Vertical Collectivism)

• Cooperative (Horizontal Collectivism)

Next Steps - Understanding and Action

• How do we see if this is true (i.e., further research)?– Interview/Observe instructors in Individualistic countries

using varying degrees of collectivism in class• “What motivates your students?”

– International Mindset surveys for correlations with IDV

• How can it be used?– Consider how your culture defines and encourages

success and how this might impact students

– Incremental changes• Social interdependence and cooperative learning

• HI ideas in VI (focusing on equality)

– Exchange programs for instructors

– Exchange teacher educator programs

• Ideas?

Works Cited

Brown, B. (2010, June). The power of vulnerability [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability?language=en

Brown, B. (2013). The power of vulnerability: Teachings on authenticity, connection and courage. [Audible Audio edition]. Retrieved from http://www.audible.com

Crocker, J., Thompson, L.L., McGraw, K.M. & Ingerman, C. (1987). Downward Comparison, Prejudice, and Evaluation of Others: Effects of Self-Esteem and Threat, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 52(5), 907-916.

Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.

Gibbons, F. X., & Gerrard, M. (1991). Downward comparison and coping with threat. In J. Suls & T. A. Wills (Eds.), Social comparison: Contemporary theory and research (pp. 317-346). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Hofstede, G. (1995). Foreword. In U. Kim, H. C. Triandis, C. Kagitcibasi, S. Choi, & G. Yoon (Eds.), Individualism and collectivism: Theory, method, and applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Hofstede, G. (1997). The Archimedes effect. In M. H. Bond (Ed.), Working at the interface of cultures: Eighteen lives in social science (pp. 47-61). London: Routledge.

Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

King, R. B., & McInerney, D. M. (2014). Culture’s consequences on student motivation: Capturing cross-cultural universality and variability through personal investment theory. Educational Psychologist, 49(3), 175-198.

Major, B., Testa, M., & Bylsma, W. H. (1991). Responses to upward and downward social comparisons: The impact of esteem-relevance and perceived control. In J. Suls & T. A. Wills (Eds.), Social comparison: Contemporary theory and research (pp. 237-260). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224-253.

Works Cited

Minkov, M. (2013). Cross-cultural analysis: The science and art of comparing the world’s modern societies and their cultures. Los Angeles: Sage.

Minkov, M., & Hofstede, G. (2011). The evolution of Hofstede’s doctrine. Cross-Cultural Management: an International Journal, 18(1), 10-20.

Neff, K. (2011). Self-compassion: Stop beating yourself up and leave insecurity behind. [Audible Audio edition]. Retrieved from http://www.audible.com

Neff, K. D., Hsieh, Y. P., & Dejitterat, K. (2005). Self-compassion, achievement goals, and coping with academic failure. Self and Identity, 4, 263-287.

Plaut, V. C., & Markus, H. R. (2005). The “inside” story: A cultural-historical analysis of being smart and motivated, American style. In A. J. Elliot & C. S. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 457-488). New York: Guilford.

Triandis, H. C. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.

Triandis, H. C. (1997). Raised in a collectivist culture, one may become an individualist. In M. H. Bond (Ed.), Working at the interface of cultures: Eighteen lives in social science (pp. 38-46). London: Routledge.

Triandis, H. C. (2001). Individualism and collectivism: Past, present, and future. In D. Matsumoto (Ed.), The handbook of culture and psychology (pp. 35-50). New York: Oxford University.

Triandis, H. C. (2002). Generic individualism and collectivism. In M. J. Gannon & K. L. Newman (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of cross-cultural management (pp. 16-45). Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

Wheeler, L. (1991). A brief history of social comparison theory. In J. Suls & T. A. Wills (Eds.), Social comparison: Contemporary theory and research (pp. 3-21). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Wills, T. A. (1991). Similarity and self-esteem in downward comparison. In J. Suls & T. A. Wills (Eds.), Social comparison: Contemporary theory and research (pp. 41-78). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Thank you!

• Comments

• Questions

• Ideas

Kjera Louise Seregi

kmelton@kent.edu