CULTURED MINDS

INDIVIDUALISM/COLLECTIVISM

 

These are the most widely used cultural dimensions, as proposed in (Hofsede, 1983; Triandis, 1995); they distinguish how people view themselves compared to others. Those with a more collectivistic cultural orientation tend to see themselves as embedded within their social network (usually family & close friends). They will often define themselves in terms of their relationship to others e.g ‘I am a good sister.’ Meanwhile others from an individualistic cultural background might predominantly see themselves as fundamentally separate from any social group and are more inclined to define themselves in terms of abstract, personal traits e.g ‘I am caring’. Note that collectivism/individualism denote endpoints of a spectrum, not binary categories. All cultures have elements of both dimensions although their weightings of each differ. 

 

Horizontal/Vertical 

This dimension reflects how much equality (horizontal) or hierarchy (vertical) is valued in a society.  It provides a further distinction within the collectivist/individualist framework to account for variation  across individualist and collectivist cultures (Singelis, Triandis, Bhawuk & Gelfand 1995; Triandis & Gelfand, 1998). Examples are provided below.