Multimethod Probes of Individualism and Collectivism

Abstract

A theoretical framework concerning cultural patterns labeled individualism and collectivism is probed. As predicted, it is shown that the content of the self includes more group-linked elements in collectivist than in individualist cultures; members of collectivist cultures perceive their ingroups as more homogeneous than their outgroups, and the opposite pattern is found among members of individualistic cultures; and people in collectivist cultures perceive more intimate and subordinate social behaviors as likely toward their ingroup members and more dissociative and superordinate behaviors toward members of their outgroups than do members of individualistic cultures. Collectivists emphasize values that promote the welfare of their ingroup, whereas individualists emphasize values that promote individual goals.