10 minutes with Geert Hofstede on Individualisme versus Collectivisme 10112014
Summary
TLDRThe transcript explores the concepts of individualism and collectivism, historically rooted in political ideologies of the 19th century. It delves into how these terms describe societal structures, with individualistic societies valuing personal independence and collectivist societies emphasizing group identity and harmony. The speaker discusses the implications of these values on various aspects of society, such as communication styles, family dynamics, and social media usage. The video also touches on the correlation between individualism and wealth, suggesting that wealthier countries tend to be more individualistic. Additionally, it mentions that individualism scores have increased over time but the relative positions of countries have remained stable.
Takeaways
- 📚 The terms 'individualism' and 'collectivism' were first used in the 19th century for political ideologies and later in the 1960s for personality psychology.
- 🌍 Individualism is characterized by loose ties between individuals, where people are expected to look after themselves and their immediate family, while collectivism involves strong group affiliations from birth.
- 🏡 In collectivist societies, there is a 'we' identity and a tendency to classify others as in-group or out-group, whereas individualist societies emphasize an 'I' identity and universalism.
- 🏆 Competition in collectivist societies is between groups, whereas in individualist societies, it is between individuals.
- 🤝 In collectivist societies, relationships come first, and tasks come second, whereas in individualist societies, tasks take precedence, and relationships may form afterward.
- 💬 High-context communication is typical in collectivist societies, where much is implied and communication is brief, while low-context communication is found in individualist societies, requiring more explicitness.
- 🎎 The key word in collectivist societies is 'harmony,' even when disagreements occur, superficial harmony is maintained to prevent the in-group from weakening.
- 📊 Individualism can be measured relative to other societies, with scores ranging from 0 to 100, and is correlated with wealth, press freedom, and human rights.
- 🌐 Wealthier countries tend to be more individualistic, while poorer countries are more collectivist, but wealth is the precursor to individualism, not the other way around.
- 📈 Over time, individualism scores have increased, but the relative order of countries has remained stable, indicating that these values are transferred across generations and are relatively stable.
Q & A
What do the terms 'individualism' and 'collectivism' originally suggest and how were they first used?
-The terms 'individualism' and 'collectivism' originally suggest political ideologies and were first used in the 19th century. They were felt to be either good or evil from the beginning.
In what decade did the term 'individualism' emerge in the field of personality psychology?
-The term 'individualism' emerged in personality psychology in the 1960s.
What is the definition of individualism in the context of societal structure?
-Individualism is defined as a society where ties between individuals are loose, and everyone is expected to look after themselves and their immediate family.
How is collectivism defined in societal terms?
-Collectivism is a societal structure where individuals from birth onwards are part of strong in-groups, such as the family, extended family, village, society, or tribe.
What is the 'we' identity in collectivist societies, and how does it differ from the 'I' identity in individualist societies?
-In collectivist societies, people identify with a 'we' identity, emphasizing group cohesion, whereas in individualist societies, there is an 'I' identity, focusing on individuality.
How does competition manifest in collectivist societies compared to individualist societies?
-In collectivist societies, competition is between groups, such as tribes, whereas in individualist societies, competition is between individuals.
What is the primary focus when carrying out a task together in collectivist societies, and how does it differ in individualist societies?
-In collectivist societies, the relationship comes first, and the task comes second, whereas in individualist societies, the task comes first, and the relationship may develop afterward.
What is the difference between high context communication and low context communication as it relates to individualism and collectivism?
-High context communication is typical of collectivist societies where many things are implicit, and communication can be brief. Low context communication is typical of individualist societies where everything must be specified, and communication is more extensive.
What is the key word associated with collectivist societies in terms of group dynamics?
-The key word associated with collectivist societies is 'harmony,' emphasizing the maintenance of superficial harmony within the in-group even if there are disagreements.
How can the position of a country on the individualism-collectivism dimension be measured?
-The position of a country on the individualism-collectivism dimension can be measured relative to other societies using a scale from zero to a hundred, with scores close to zero indicating collectivist societies and scores close to 100 indicating individualist societies.
What are some significant correlations between a country's individualism score and various social and economic factors?
-Countries with higher individualism scores tend to be wealthier, have more press freedom, higher human rights indexes, higher divorce rates, and faster paces of life. Additionally, languages in individualist societies use the word 'I' more frequently.
How do individualism and power distance relate, and do individualism scores change over time?
-Countries with lower power distance tend to be more individualist, but this correlation is mainly an effect of wealth. Research shows that individualism scores have increased over time but have not changed the order of countries, suggesting that the scores can be assumed to be stable over time.
Outlines
🌐 Understanding Individualism and Collectivism
This paragraph delves into the origins and definitions of individualism and collectivism, which are often misconstrued as political ideologies. These terms were first used in the 19th century and carry strong value connotations. The speaker clarifies that individualism refers to societies where people are loosely tied and are expected to look after themselves and their immediate family. In contrast, collectivism describes societies where individuals are part of strong in-groups, such as families or tribes, from birth. The paragraph also discusses how people in collectivist societies have a 'we' identity, unlike individualist societies where an 'I' identity prevails. It highlights the differences in competition, relationships, and communication between the two types of societies. The concept of harmony in collectivist societies is also explored, where maintaining superficial harmony within the in-group is crucial, while individualist societies may view confrontations as healthy. The paragraph concludes with a discussion on how to measure a country's position on the individualism-collectivism spectrum, emphasizing that it's relative to other societies.
📊 Correlations with Individualism and Collectivism
The second paragraph explores how individualism and collectivism can be measured and what factors correlate with these values. It explains that there's no absolute measure, but societies can be plotted on a scale from zero to a hundred, with scores close to zero indicating collectivist societies and scores near 100 indicating individualist societies. The United States scores the highest in individualism, followed by Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, and other European countries. Conversely, collectivist societies are found in countries like India, Japan, Russia, and China. The paragraph then correlates these scores with various hard data points, such as wealth (wealthier countries tend to be more individualistic), press freedom, human rights, divorce rates, age differences in marriages, pace of life, and language use. It also touches on the use of social media in individualist versus collectivist societies. The relationship between individualism, power distance, and wealth is also discussed, noting that lower power distance is associated with wealth and individualism. The paragraph concludes with the observation that individualism scores have increased over time but the relative order of countries has remained stable.
🕰 The Evolution of IDV Scores Over Time
The final paragraph addresses the question of whether IDV (Individualism vs. Collectivism) scores change over time. It suggests that these values are transferred from one generation to another, and research by Professor Burgos from Groningen indicates that over a 30-year period, individualism has only increased without altering the order of countries on the IDV scale. This implies that while individualism may rise or fall within a country, the relative positions of countries on the IDV spectrum remain consistent over time. The paragraph reinforces the idea that these cultural dimensions are stable and are passed down through generations, maintaining the relative standings of countries on the individualism-collectivism spectrum.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Individualism
💡Collectivism
💡Exclusionism
💡Universalism
💡High Context Communication
💡Low Context Communication
💡Harmony
💡Power Distance
💡IDV Scores
💡Horizontal and Vertical Individualism
Highlights
Individualism and collectivism were first used in the 19th century for political ideologies and have strong value connotations.
Individualism in personality psychology emerged in the 1960s, but collectivist personalities were not discussed.
Individualism versus collectivism describes societal differences, not a new dimension, and was used to describe national societies' differences.
Individualist societies have loose ties between individuals, emphasizing self-reliance and immediate family.
Collectivist societies are characterized by strong in-group ties, often starting from birth and including family or community.
In collectivist societies, people identify with 'we' and have an 'in-group' versus 'out-group' mentality.
Individualist societies prioritize the individual over the group, with a focus on personal characteristics.
Collectivist societies engage in group competition, while individualist societies emphasize individual competition.
In collectivist societies, relationships are prioritized over tasks, contrasting with individualist societies.
High context communication is typical in collectivist societies, where much is implied and communication is brief.
Low context communication is found in individualist societies, requiring explicitness and more extensive dialogue.
Collectivist societies value harmony within the in-group, even when disagreements occur.
Individualist societies view confrontations as potentially healthy and not necessarily harmful.
The position of a country on the individualism-collectivism scale is relative and measured by comparing with other societies.
Wealthier countries tend to be more individualist, while poorer countries lean towards collectivism.
Collectivist societies generally have lower press freedom compared to individualist societies.
Human rights indices are higher in individualist societies, aligning with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Divorce rates are higher in individualist societies, often with different marital dynamics than in collectivist societies.
Pace of life is slower in collectivist societies, as indicated by measures like walking speed.
Linguistic studies show individualist societies' languages use the word 'I' more frequently, with English being the most individualist.
Social media usage differs by individualism and collectivism, with individualist societies using it more for active search.
There is a relationship between individualism and power distance, with lower power distance correlating with individualism.
Research indicates that individualism scores have increased over time but the order of countries has remained stable.
Transcripts
the terms individualism and collectivism
suggest too many people political IDs
and in fact the both words were used as
far as I know for the first time in the
19th century for political ideologies
anything that ends on ISM sounds like a
political ideology and they had already
from the beginning a very strong value
content they were felt to be either good
or evil in the 1920s somebody used them
as the opposite ends of one scale and
then in the 1960s the word individualism
also emerged in personality psychology
and people started to refer to
individualist personalities nobody ever
tried to talk about collectivist
personalities by the way but I chose the
term individualism versus collectivism
when I needed words to describe the
differences between national societies
differences that actually had been
described before me by several different
sociologists so I didn't invent a
dimension at all it was it clearly
describes in difference of the logical
sex but I used these terms for it and
now here's the definition individualism
is a society in which the ties between
individuals are loose everyone is
expected to look after her himself and
the immediate family father mother and
children at collectivism is a society in
which individuals from birth onwards are
part of strong in groups usually the
family sometimes the extended family
sometimes the village society sometimes
a tribe if I oppose the individual lists
and the collectivist
and I find that in collectivist
societies people identify with we they
have a we identity and an individual
Society obviously an i identity in the
collectivist society they are with a
difficult word exclusionists they
classify others as in or out group and
if they are out group they're excluded
and in the individualist society they
there is universalism other people are
classified as individuals by their own
particular characteristics the
competition in collectivist society is
not between individuals but between
groups between tribes you could say
they're often tribal societies and in
the individualist society the
competition is between individuals when
it comes to carrying out a task together
in the collectivist society the
relationship comes first the task comes
second in the individualist society the
task comes first and the relationship
may come afterwards then there is a
distinction which comes actually from
the literature between high context
communication and low context
communication and in high context
communication it means that many that is
for the collectivist society and that
many things are obvious so actually the
communication can be short individual
societies everything must be specified
and therefore the communications take
more words they are more extensive and
the last thing that I want to bring up
is that a key word in collectivist
society is a harmony there should be
harmony inside the in-group even if
people disagree there should maintain
the superficial harmony because
otherwise the in group will be weakens
it will be
we'll fall apart in the individualist
society the idea that confrontations can
do no harm they can sometimes be healthy
now how do we measure the position of a
country on the individualism
collectivism dimension it can only be
measured relative to other societies
there is no absolute yardstick for it
and it is expressed in individualism
scores ID v IV values can be plotted on
a scale from zero to a hundred and
scores close to zero sense for the most
collectivist society and squirrel's
close to 100 for the most individualist
society and here is a selection of 14
countries out of the 76 for which we
have scores and the highest score for
individualism
we find in the United States of America
on the high side we found Australia
Britain also the Netherlands also
Denmark France Germany in general we
find European countries on the high
individualism side we find a
collectivist societies low RDV scores in
places like India Japan also in Russia
by the way and the Arab countries Mexico
in the lowest in China what can we do
with these scores well we can we can
correlate them with hard data and I have
a selection here of things that
correlate significantly with the RVT
scores and first of all wealth or
poverty of a country wealthier countries
tend to be more individualist
poorer countries to be more collectivist
the order of logic in fact is not death
individualism comes first it is that the
wealth comes first and then the
individualism follows collectivist
societies have lower press freedom
individualist societies have more press
freedom
then there are human rights they were
established by the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and they are having
measured by human rights index and the
index is clearly lower for collectivist
societies and for individualist
societies it must be said that the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
was created by people from individually
societies in the family in the
individualist societies you have higher
divorce rates in the collectivist
societies lower divorce rates often the
marriages have been concluded also by
the families and the ideal age for
marrying is also different that's the
interesting piece of research in the
collectivist society the model
relationship is over somewhat older
husband and the younger wife in the
individualist society is smaller age
differences between the spouses another
piece of research is about a pace of
life and the pace of life in
collectivist societies is slower than
the pace of life in the individualist
societies which can for example be
demonstrated by measuring how fast
people walk in the street if they don't
have any particular place to go just if
they walk freely to go from A to B how
fast they walk then in language that
linguists have looked at it and not
surprisingly the languages of individual
societies use more the word I actually
the most individuos language is English
and this is the only language I know
that writes I with a capital letter
there are other languages that writes
you with a capital letter
in the collectivist society sometimes
there are languages where the word I is
more or less taboo and where you are not
supposed to use it and the last one is
about recent applications in social
media there is a difference visible
individualist societies use social media
for an active search and collectivist
societies use it maybe for search by on
indication of the end group or from
communicating with the in-group now I
want to say something about a
relationship between individualism and
power distance because it is clear that
countries with lower power distance are
more often individualist and countries
with a higher power distance are more
often collectivist not always but more
often but this turns out to be mainly
the effects of the wealth individualism
is strongly correlated with wealth power
distance low power distance is somewhat
correlated with wealth and if we take
that effect out if we compare rich
countries with rich countries and poor
countries with poor countries the
correlation between power distance and
individualism almost disappears so that
is the reason that I treat them still
although they are correlated or treat
them as two separate dimensions in the
United States some people write about
horizontal and vertical individualism
now that is of course a combination of
ITV and PDI now the last question is do
I DV scores change over time
individualism versus collectivism are
transferred from generation to
generation you could be getting in the
family and there's research by professor
Burgos egg from Groningen who collects
all sorts of to generation thirty years
apart on questions related to
and collectivism and what it shows is
that over the 30 years that
individualism has been only increase but
it has not changed the order of the
country so the countries have moved
along together and because the scores I
use are based on the relative position
of the countries this course did not
change so the scores can be assumed to
be stable over time
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