Horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism-collectivism: a comparison of African Americans and European Americans

The current study examined ethnic differences in horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism and collectivism among 96 African American and 149 European American college students. Participants completed the 32-item Singelis et al. (1995) Individualism/Collectivism Scale. Multivariate analyses of variance results yielded a main effect for ethnicity, with African Americans being significantly higher on horizontal individualism and European Americans being higher on horizontal collectivism and vertical individualism. A moderated multiple regression analysis indicated that ethnicity significantly moderated the relationship between individualism and collectivism. Individualism and collectivism were significantly and positively associated among African Americans, but not associated among European Americans. In addition, collectivism was related to grade point average for African Americans but not for European Americans. Contrary to the prevailing view of individualism-collectivism being unipolar, orthogonal dimensions, results provide support for individualism-collectivism to be considered as unipolar, related dimensions for African Americans.     

大学生文化倾向性与姓名知觉反应时的关系

摘要 本文采用问卷调查和字词辨别反应时任务的方法,考察了大学生对个体姓名信息反应时与文化倾向性之间的关系。结果表明：（1）自陈式《垂直、水平个人-集体主义问卷》的集体主义维度上具有较低的区分效度,有待改善;（2）在视觉通路中,个体对自我的姓名、姓、名的加工时均具有一定的优先性,并发现个体对自我姓名的知觉模式为整体知觉;（3）姓名信息所蕴含的文化信息与文化倾向问卷中所测量的信息具有一定的相关,支持并验证了文化倾向问卷的内容效度;同时研究发现姓、名作为自我结构的标识物比姓名更佳。     

个人主义与集体主义结构的验证性研究

本文用实证方法通过对中国大陆303名被试的调查,对个人主义、集体主义的维度及其测量问卷的构想效度进行初步验证,结果支持Triandis提出的个人主义、集体主义可以分成水平、垂直两个维度,在个人水平上,个人主义与集体主义有四种类型的构想。验证性因素分析表明,Singelis的问卷有较好的构想效度,但在中国被试的测试结果上表现出一些题目的不适合,有待于进一步修正。     

Social values priorities and orientation towards individualism and collectivism of Greek university students

The study aimed to explore the value priorities of Greek young adults and their orientation towards individualism and collectivism and to investigate for possible relationships between value types and individualism and collectivism. Greek undergraduate students (n = 484) completed the Social Values Survey, the Auckland’s Individualism and Collectivism Scale and a form of demographic information. Benevolence, self-direction and hedonism were found to be the most highly rated value types for both males and females. In the case of individualism and collectivism participants scored higher on collectivism. Males and science and technology students scored higher on value types regarding openness to change and self-enhancement. Females and social and humanities students scored higher on conservation and self-transcendence value types. Religiosity was associated to collectivism and to value types regarding conservation and self-transcendence. Regression analysis revealed a direct association between individualism and openness to change and self-enhancement. Collectivism was found to be associated with conservation and self-transcendence.     

Horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism among college students in the United States, Taiwan, and Argentina.

Among college students in the United States, Taiwan, and Argentina, the author examined the strength of 4 cultural patterns (horizontal collectivism, vertical collectivism, horizontal individualism, vertical individualism; H. C. Triandis, 1995). A 3-group confirmatory factor analysis established the measurement equivalence among the 3 samples before the comparison. The Taiwanese and the Argentine samples were more vertically collectivist than the U.S. sample. The U.S. and the Taiwanese samples were more vertically individualistic than the Argentine sample. The U.S. sample was more horizontally individualistic than the Argentine sample, which, in turn, was more horizontally individualistic than the Taiwanese sample.     

Culture-specific approach to the study of individualism/collectivism

Studies in individualism/collectivism (Triandis, McCusker & Hui, 1990) have revealed a considerable cultural connotation of the phenomena. The aim of our investigation was to develop a cross-culturally equivalent psychometric instrument for measuring individualistic versus collectivistic orientation on the basis of the shared representation of individualism/collectivism among Bulgarians. By applying the psychosemantic methodology we extracted seven concepts which form the individualism/collectivism dimension. The proposed instrument, labelled Bulgarian individualism/collectivism (BIC) scale, consists of a preference choice between the two words in every possible pair of the seven words. Validation studies included investigation of the relationship between the BIC scale and value orientation, between the BIC scale and general views of society and political preferences, and between the BIC scale and behavioural intentions such as the intention to start a business of one's own, the intention to emigrate, and the choice of professional vocation. Results were compared with the relationship of these variables to other measures of individualism/collectivism (scales of Triandis and Brown). The results suggest that the BIC scale reveals a more global orientation, whereas the other scales are concerned with specific everyday behaviours. A comparison between Bulgarian and American samples revealed some specificity in the Bulgarian social representation of individualism/collectivism, which can be explained by the extremely collectivistic norms of the former communist society in Bulgaria.     

Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Collectivism Among College Students in the United States,Taiwan, and Argentina

Abstract

Among college students in the United States, Taiwan, and Argentina, the author examined the strength of 4 cultural patterns (horizontal collectivism, vertical collectivism, horizontal individualism, vertical individualism; H. C. Triandis, 1995). A 3-group confirmatory factor analysis established the measurement equivalence among the 3 samples before the comparison. The Taiwanese and the Argentine samples were more vertically collectivist than the U.S. sample. The U.S. and the Taiwanese samples were more vertically individualistic than the Argentine sample. The U.S. sample was more horizontally individualistic than the Argentine sample, which, in turn, was more horizontally individualistic than the Taiwanese sample.     

Relation of Individualism–Collectivism and Ethnic Identity to Spiritual Transcendence Among European Americans,Asian Indian Americans,and Chinese Americans

The hypothesis that spirituality is influenced by individualism–collectivism and ethnic identity is investigated among European Americans (EAs), Asian Indian Americans (AIAs), and Chinese Americans (CAs) who completed measures of individualism–collectivism, ethnic identity, personality, and spiritual transcendence (ST). Data analyses indicated that EAs scored higher than both AIAs and CAs on the ST. Separate regression analyses on ST with demographics and personality as covariates and individualism–collectivism and ethnic identity as independent variables indicated that collectivism significantly predicted ST for EAs and AIAs, and resolution of ethnic identity significantly predicted ST for Chinese Americans.     

High Power,Low Power,and Equality: Culture Beyond Individualism and Collectivism

Models of culture are operationalized as individualism and collectivism and have not given sufficient attention to other organizing axes—especially how a society handles power, dependence, and equality. Shavitt, Lalwani, Zhang, and Torelli (2006) make a significant contribution by first reminding the field of power distance (Hofstede, 1980) and then moving beyond a single factor to highlight benefits of Triandis’ (1995) horizontal (valuing equality) individualism–collectivism and vertical (emphasizing hierarchy) individualism–collectivism model. But this approach makes it difficult to disentangle the effects of power and individualism or collectivism; priming procedures and experimental variations of power can counter this limitation. Moreover, current horizontal/vertical approaches do not distinguish between having and not having power, although social cognition research documented differential effects of high and low power on content of self‐concept, relationality, and cognition, which suggest previously neglected cultural differences.     

Cooperation, competition and goal interdependence in work teams: a multilevel approach

The aim of this research was to predict cooperative and competitive conflict management styles in 26 new start-up work teams (time 1), and after one year of functioning (time 2) in an automotive company. Vertical-horizontal, individualism-collectivism cultural patterns were used as predictive variables. It was predicted that goal interdependence would moderate the relationship between cultural patterns and conflict management styles. Because of the hierarchically nested data structure, a Multilevel Analysis approach was used. Horizontal and vertical collectivism increased cooperation, and horizontal and vertical individualism increased competition. Only when work teams had been functioning for a year, goal interdependence increased cooperation and interaction effects between goal interdependence and vertical types of individualism and collectivism were observed. Implications for team-building as organizational transformational strategies are discussed.     

理解个人主义要正本清源——兼与黄显中同志商榷

个人主义作为资本主义社会的主流意识形态 ,有其深刻的现实根源 ,并不是理性发展的结果。市民社会与个人主义之间并没有必然联系。个人主义与集体主义存在根本的冲突。为了巩固集体主义在公民道德建设的主导地位 ,我们必须全面地认识个人主义。     

Family functioning, cultural orientation, and psychological well-being among university students in Lebanon

The author examined the relationship between perceived family functioning, the cultural orientations of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism, and psychological well-being in a group of 182 university students in Lebanon. Factor analysis of the present data from the 12-item General Functioning Scale of the Family Assessment Device (GF-FAD) resulted in the extraction of one general factor, accounting for 43% of the variance. On the basis of North American cutoff values, the author found that 60.5% of the university students perceived their family as healthy and that 39.5% perceived their family as unhealthy. Male students perceived their families as somewhat more dysfunctional than did female students. Muslim students perceived their families as more dysfunctional than did Christian students. As the author expected, family functioning was associated with the culture-related personality dimension of horizontal collectivism and with perceived psychological well-being. Overall, the findings supported the structure and usefulness of the GF-FAD in the Lebanese context and the importance of viewing family functioning from the perspective of individual cultural orientation.     

Relationships among individualism--collectivism, gender, and ingroup/outgroup status, and responses to conflict: a study in China and the United States

Responses to conflict were studied in samples of college students from a highly collectivistic society (China, n = 207) and a highly individualistic society (United States n = 209). As predicted, the collectivistic society reported more conflict-reducing behaviors and less verbal or physical aggression. However, the effect of individualism/collectivism was moderated by both the ingroup/outgroup status of the target and gender of the participant. Chinese and US women did not differ on any measure. However, of the four groups, Chinese men reported the most conflict-reducing behaviors and the least physical aggression, whereas US men reported the fewest conflict-reducing behaviors and the greatest physical aggression. As predicted, conflict-reducing behaviors were more common in the ingroup condition and both verbal and physical aggression was more common in the outgroup condition. However, the latter were moderated by gender of the participant. US men reported greater physical aggression than any other group. Neither gender nor society had any effect on the level of indirect aggression. There were no gender or individualism/collectivism effects on indirect aggression. Observed gender effects were attributed to differences in how collectivistic and individualistic societies conceptualize masculinity. The effect sizes associated with the ingroup/outgroup condition were consistently and substantially larger than effect sizes associated with individualism/collectivism or gender.     

Reflections on the Meaning and Structure of the Horizontal/Vertical Distinction

The commentaries by Aaker (2006), Meyers‐Levy (2006), and Oyserman (2006) extend the implications of the horizontal/vertical distinction described in our article (Shavitt, Lalwani, Zhang, & Torelli, 2006) in a number of interesting directions. We join these authors in calling for further research on horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism constructs. We also highlight conceptual and structural issues that remain to be resolved and evaluate priming and other operational approaches to the study of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism.     

Individualism-Collectivism as a Boundary Condition for Effectiveness of Minority Influence in Decision Making

Results of this experiment demonstrate that individualists and collectivists react differently to minority influence. Based on the distinction between objectivity and preference norms in the minority influence literature, we hypothesize that individualism and collectivism influence (A) responses to minority influence (focusing on the target of influence) and (B) effectiveness of minority influence (focusing on the influence agent). Our results replicate past research and demonstrate improved decision quality for individuals exposed to a minority perspective. Moreover, minority influence targets with high horizontal individualism and low horizontal collectivism made higher quality decisions. Influence targets with high vertical collectivism demonstrated higher quality decisions when the influence agent held a high status position in the group. Results also demonstrate that influence agents with high vertical individualism experienced less role stress than those with low vertical individualism. Finally, influence agents with low role stress were more effective in influencing the decision making of others. We discuss our findings in terms of boundary conditions to the minority influence process.     

How values of individualism and collectivism influence impulsive buying and money budgeting: the mediating role of acculturation to global consumer culture

This study examined the effects of individual‐level cultural values of individualism and collectivism on impulsive buying and money budgeting and the mediating role of acculturation to global consumer culture. By applying the person‐environment fit theory and acculturation theory, we argue that people who hold cultural values congruent with the culture they come into contact with are more likely to acculturate to it, and that those who acculturate to global consumer culture (GCC) are more likely to display consumption behaviors stimulated by GCC, namely impulsive buying and poor money budgeting. The findings show that consumers acculturated to GCC report higher impulsive buying and lower money budgeting, and that it is not the distinction between individualism and collectivism, but rather between the vertical and horizontal values that determines the acceptance of GCC and the studied consumption behaviors. Results revealed that vertical individualists (those who believe in competition between individuals and who prioritize their needs over the needs of others) and vertical collectivists (those who believe in the subordination of individuals to groups) were more likely to be acculturated to GCC. Thus, the acceptance of inequality between individuals among other individuals, or within groups, is related to the acceptance of GCC and impulsive buying and money budgeting. The level of acculturation to GCC mediates the relations between vertical individualism and collectivism values and impulsive buying and money budgeting. Theoretical contributions to the research on horizontal/vertical individualism/collectivism, acculturation to GCC, and person‐environment fit theory, as well as practical implications for marketers are discussed.     

Individualism versus collectivism or versus authoritarianism?

Although there has been progress in the definition, antecedents, and consequences of individualism and collectivism, there are some fundamental issues that need to be resolved. This study examined two such issues: the dimensionality of individualism and collectivism, and the relationship of these constructs to authoritarianism. Thirty-eight American undergraduates judged the similarity among 15 concepts that have previously been shown to be reflective of elements of individualism, collectivism, and authoritarianism. Multidimensional scaling revealed two dimensions: individualism versus authoritarianism and active collectivism versus withdrawal from group involvement. Unlike the conception by Hofstede (1980) that individualism and collectivism are opposites, these results strongly suggest they are orthogonal. Furthermore, authoritarianism was construed as the opposite of individualism. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.     

Individualism and Collectivism

Psychologists have long portrayed the mind “as a machine or computer that is the same in all times and places, while only the raw materials processed by the machinery or the data in the computer vary” (Fiske, Kitayama, Markus, & Nisbett, 1998, p. 918). This state of affairs changed dramatically over the last decade and a rapidly growing body of experimental research documents profound cultural differences in basic psychological processes. To date, much of this work has addressed the influence of individualism or collectivism, often framed in terms of independent vs. interdependent self‐construals (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; for a comprehensive review, see Oyserman, Coon, & Kemmelmeier, 2002). Other dimensions of culture, which figured prominently in Hofstede's (1980) groundbreaking analysis, received less attention. In this issue's Research Dialogue, Shavitt, Lalwani, Zhang, and Torelli (2006) draw attention to one of these dimensions, namely the distinction between horizontal and vertical cultural orientations, which value equality or emphasize hierarchy, respectively. They review the importance of this distinction for understanding personal values, advertising and consumer persuasion, self‐presentational patterns, and gender differences, noting that the influence of horizontal/vertical orientations is often obscured by their conflation with differences in individualism and collectivism. Commentaries by Aaker (2006), Meyers‐Levy (2006), and Oyserman (2006) elaborate on their analysis and suggest additional avenues for future research. In combination, this set of papers makes a compelling case for extending the analysis of cultural differences in cognition, emotion, motivation, and behavior beyond the individualism/collectivism distinction that has captured the lion's share of recent attention.     

大学生的文化取向、自我概念对主观幸福感的影响

对成、渝两地228名大学生进行了测试,探讨大学生不同的文化取向和自我概念对其主观幸福感的影响。结果表明:大学生的文化取向以水平集体主义取向为主;年级、性别和家庭经济收入状况对幸福感均不产生影响;自我概念的各因子除与情感平衡呈显著负相关外,其他均为显著正相关;垂直个人主义文化与负性情感呈显著负相关,与情感平衡呈显著正相关;心理自我、生理自我和水平集体主义对生活满意度指数A和B有显著的预测效应;社会自我、自我批评和水平个人主义对正性情感有显著的预测效应,心理自我、自我批评和垂直个人主义对负性情感有显著的预测效应,心理自我、垂直和水平的个人主义对情感平衡有显著的预测效应。     

Neuroticism and Attitudes Toward Action in 19 Countries

Although individuals scoring high on Neuroticism tend to avoid taking action when faced with challenges, Neuroticism is also characterized by impulsivity. To explore cognitive biases related to this costly behavior pattern, we tested whether individuals who rated themselves as higher in Neuroticism would evaluate the general concepts of action and inaction as, respectively, more negative and positive. We further investigated whether anxiety and depression would mediate and individualism‐collectivism would moderate these relations in a large international sample. Participants (N = 3,827 college students; 69% female) from 19 countries completed surveys measuring Neuroticism, attitudes toward action and inaction, depression, anxiety, and individualism‐collectivism. Hierarchical linear models tested the above predictions. Neuroticism negatively correlated with attitudes toward action and positively correlated with attitudes toward inaction. Furthermore, anxiety was primarily responsible for emotionally unstable individuals’ less positive attitudes toward action, and individuals who endorsed more collectivistic than individualistic beliefs showed a stronger negative association between Neuroticism and attitudes toward action. Researchers and practitioners interested in understanding and remediating the negative consequences of Neuroticism should pay greater attention to attitudes toward action and inaction, particularly focusing on their links with anxiety and individualism‐collectivism.