Triandis et al. 1988 – Individualism and Collectivism (Key Vocabulary)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, concepts, and findings from Triandis et al.'s discussion of individualism and collectivism.

Collectivist culture

A culture in which the individual's needs, desires, and outcomes are secondary to the needs and goals of the ingroup.

Ingroup

The group to which an individual belongs (family, tribe, organization, or country) whose goals influence the individual.

Outgroup

People outside the individual's ingroup; social boundaries and attitudes toward them vary by culture.

Individualistic culture

A culture that values the welfare and accomplishments of the individual; emphasizes self-reliance and less conformity to group norms.

Vertical relationships

Hierarchical social ties valued in collectivist cultures (e.g., child–parent; employer–employee).

Horizontal relationships

Egalitarian relationships valued in individualistic cultures (e.g., friend–friend; husband–wife).

Self-liking

A component of self-esteem focused on how much one likes oneself; emphasized in some collectivist contexts.

Self-competence

A component of self-esteem focused on perceived task ability; emphasized in many individualistic cultures.

Shame (external)

External social judgment used as punishment; more common in collectivist cultures.

Guilt (internal)

Internal self-judgment used as punishment; more common in individualistic cultures.

Continuum (culture)

Cultures lie on a spectrum between collectivism and individualism; not strict binaries and individuals may vary within a culture.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) and culture

Heart attack rates tend to be lower in collectivist societies; stress pressures in individualistic cultures can raise risk.

Cultural Trade-off Hypothesis

Idea that cultures balance self-esteem components; collectivists may emphasize self-liking while individualists emphasize self-competence.

Self-esteem cross-cultural findings (Tafarodi & Swann, 1996)

Chinese students tended to score higher on self-liking; American students higher on self-competence.

Disability attitudes cross-cultural study (Crystal, Watanabe, & Chen, 1999)

Collectivist children more likely to feel sorry for and worry about imposing on disabled individuals; American children more embarrassed.

Study 1 findings

With 300 American graduate students: individualists are more goal-focused on self, less attentive to ingroup views, more self-reliant and competitive, and more detached from the ingroup.

Study 2 findings

With multiple national groups: Japanese participants more concerned with coworkers/friends’ views and feel personally honored when an ingroup member is honored; results were mixed.

Study 3 findings

Increases in collectivism linked to greater social support and reduced loneliness.