THE ONE; THE MANY…
Individualism and collectivism: Crosscultural perspectives on self-ingroup
relationships
Triandis, et. Al
Leah Brown, Elizabeth Flockhart,
Denise Rye, Celeste Smith, Amy Sturm
Background
• “Behavior never occurs in a vacuum”(211)
• Examples
– Personal space
– Friendship
– Parenting styles
– Family dynamics
Background
• Theory: Individualism-Collectivism Model
– Used to explain large amounts of variation seen in
human behavior, social interaction, and personality
– Explain differences in people and/or groups
• How?
– Collectivist Cultures: individual needs, desires, etc.
are secondary to those of the group (Asia)
– Individualistic Cultures: Higher value on the needs
and accomplishments of the individual rather than the
group (United States)
Method
• Three studies
• Self-report questionnaires
• Hypothetical vignettes
Study #1
• 300 Psych. Undergrads from U of Chicago
• 158 item questionnaire measuring
tendency toward collectivism vs.
individualistic beliefs and behaviors
• Five scenarios-hypothetical social
situations
Findings
• 50% of variation in responses explained
by three factors
– Self-reliance
– Competition
– Distance from in-groups
• 14% explained by “concern for ingroup”
• There is more concern for an individual’s
own self than for the group
Study # 2
• 91 students from U. of Chicago
• 97 Puerto Rican students
• 150 Japanese students
• 106 older Japanese individuals
Study #2
• 144 item questionnaire measuring
collectivist characteristics
• Items from questionnaire show previous
studies deal with three collectivist-related
tendencies
– Concern for in-group
– Closeness of self to in-group
– Subordination of own goals to in-group goals
Findings
• Japanese students more concerned with
opinions of friends and coworkers in
relation to U. of Chicago. No relation
between Puerto Rican students and others
• Japanese students found less conformity
than Chicago students because of
Westernizing
– Evidence that this has changed: the 106 older
Japanese individuals showed more conformity
Warnings for Study #2
“Conclusions about collectivist and
individualistic cultures shouldn’t be overly
sweeping and must be carefully applied to
selective, specific behaviors, situations,
and cultures”(216)
Study #3
• Attempt to restrict and sharpen research
focus
• Extending previous findings
• 72 items, 100 subjects
• Comparison between U. of Chicago and U.
of Puerto Rico
• Answered questions about perceived
amount of social support and perceived
amount of loneliness
Findings
• Collectivism was positively correlated with
social support
• Collectivism was negatively associated
with loneliness
• American students most variance resulted
from “self-reliance with competition”
• Puerto Ricans were influenced by
“affiliation”
In Summary…
• The studies supported the theory, but
there were changes in the definition of
collectivism and individualism
• Individualism and collectivism previously
seen as opposites, but Triandis explains it
as a continuum
Collectivist-individualistic cultural
continuum
Significance
• A little discussion…
– What significance do
you find from Triandis’
findings?
• Health
• Education
• Childrearing &
Parenting
Recent Applications
• This study cited in over 200 other articles
in a variety of scientific fields
• Theory applied to self-esteem studies
• Theory applied in a cross-cultural
approach to look at children’s reactions to
people with disabilities
Important Application of Theory
Theory doesn’t only have to be applied to
comparisons between countries, but can
be applied within countries
More Discussion…
• What states would you predict have more
collectivist or more individualistic
tendencies?
• Do you see any possible faults with this
study? What could you do to improve it?
• Do these findings apply to you, and do
you think you can be categorized as an
individualistic or collectivist?