Critical Evaluation of Individualism and Collectivism as a Personality Factor - Research Paper Example

Critical Evaluation of Individualism and Collectivism as a Personality Factor Individualism and collectivism have different dimensions and therefore it is difficult to define both of them accurately. Generally speaking, individualism is a concept which argues that a “human being should think and judge independently, respecting nothing more than the sovereignty of his or her mind whereas collectivism believes that some sort of group rather than the individual that makes the fundamental unit of political, social, and economic concern” (Collectivism vs. Individualism, n. d). In other words, collectivism supports the concept of man as a social animal whereas individualism respects the autonomy of human being. In some cultures individualism is widely practiced whereas in some other cultures collectivism is practiced. Both individualism and collectivism are heavily dependent on the personality factor. This paper briefly analyses the validity and applicability of the "individualism- collectivism" dimension as a personality factor and explains the cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism. "Individualism and collectivism" as a personality factor Triandis & Suh (2002) have defined “personality as “an individual’s characteristic pattern of thought, emotion, and behavior, together with the psychological mechanisms—hidden or not—behind those patterns” (Triandis & Suh, 2002, p.136). In other words, different individuals may have different personalities because of their differences in heredity and environment. It should be noted that heredity and environment are the two major factors which controls the personality development. Generally speaking, the children of good person may become better citizens if they brought up in a healthy environment. At the same time there are many instances in which children of better persons may become antisocial elements because of their wrong friendships. Children who were not allowed to interact freely in a society may become introverts whereas others may become extroverts. Introverts may not be much interested in working for the betterment of any groups whereas extroverts may develop a tendency to work of the betterment of groups. Individualists consider morality as serving their values and the values of people they care about, and take responsibility for their actions. Collectivists consider their moral sense to be a servant of the collective, and as such have a strong incentive to delegate responsibility to others, to their belief system or ideology, and to forego expressing themselves even if they are right and the collective is wrong (Defining individualism and collectivism, 2007). Some individualists may try to do everything in a perfect manner. Even a simple mistake may not be tolerated by such people. They will be more concerned about their own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others. They wanted to see everything in perfect shape. On the other hand, collectivists normally give more importance to the interests of the group and therefore they may not consider the mistakes of the individuals seriously. As far as the objectives of the groups were met, collectivists are satisfied. For example, in a cricket match, the captain will be satisfied with the efforts of the team, if the team wins. He may not bother much if some of his batsmen out for cheaper scores or some of his bowler fail to capture any wickets. On the other hand, in an individual point of view, the failed batsmen and the failed bowlers may develop worries about their poor performances. Cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism Individualism is exactly opposite to collectivism. Both are travelling in opposite directions. Collectivism values groups more than individuals. However, both individualism and collectivism together constitutes a national culture. In political and economic circles, collectivism is applied whereas in personal life, many people opt for individualism. For example, a government or a social organization can work for the betterment of groups rather than the individuals. Individual preferences may not be taken into the accounts while such organizations create policies. On the other hand, majority of the individuals give priority to their interests while taking decisions. People in collectivist cultures, compared to people in individualist cultures, are likely to define themselves as aspects of groups, to give priority to in-group goals, to focus on context more than the content in making attributions and in communicating, to pay less attention to internal than to external processes as determinants of social behavior, to define most relationships with ingroup members as communal, to make more situational attributions, and tend to be self-effacing (Harry, 2001) For example, china is believed to be belonging to a collectivist culture because of socialism or communism. Chinese people do not have freedom to work for individual gains. In fact they forced to work for the betterment of their country rather than the betterment of their individual life. On the other hand in America, exactly opposite things are happening. Americans are more interested in safeguarding their personal interests and they will never sacrifice their personal interests for the betterment of the country. It should be noted that when the recent bailout package declared by the Obama administration, many Americans criticized it because of their fear of paying more taxes to the government. “Collectivist cultures like China (Hong Kong 37th rank), view other companies with less collectivistic philosophy as cold and not supportive. Collectivistic cultures have a great emphasize on groups and think more in terms of we" (Individualism versus collectivism, 2011). On the other hand, individualistic cultures such as America give more importance to the interests of the individuals. In other words, in socialist countries people cannot develop individuallyand therefore they will work for the betterment of groups. On the other hand in capitalist countries, individuals may not face any problem in safeguarding their interests and therefore they will work more for their own interests. “There are basic tendencies (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) that are independent of culture” (Triandis & Suh, 2002, p.134). There are many common characteristics associated with individuals even if they belong to different cultures. For example, neither an American nor a Chinese may sacrifice the interests of their children for the betterment of children of others. The meaning of a child is same to all the people irrespective of their cultures. Same way nobody will sacrifice the interests of their family for the betterment of others. In other words, there are some common characteristics associated with every person in this world. Personality is shaped by both genetic and environmental influences. Among the most important of the latter are cultural influences. Culture is transmitted through language and the modelling of behaviour when conditions permit humans to communicate through shared language, by living in the same historic period, and when they are sufficiently proximal to influence each other (Triandis & Suh, 2002, p.135) It should be noted that in some cultures, people can keep more than one wife whereas in some other cultures, keeping more than one wife is a sin. Same way some cultures, consider killing of the enemies of their religion as a sacred act whereas some other cultures consider killing of even an animal as a sin. In short, personality has definite relations with the cultural traits and therefore individual characteristics could be different in different cultures. In other words, “personality tests developed in one culture and translated for use in other cultures are likely to be insensitive to cultural differences and to produce distorted results” (Triandis & Suh, 2002, p.137) Conclusions Individualism and collectivism are two concepts which are entirely opposite in its meaning. Individualism argues for the autonomy and betterment of the individuals whereas collectivism argues for the betterment of groups. Since, personality is a product of hereditary and environment, different people in different cultures may have different personalities. Cultural beliefs can influence the development of individualism and collectivism. In socialist countries collectivism prevails more than individualism whereas capitalist countries exactly opposite thing is happening. In any case, personality development is the product of both individualism and collectivism. References Collectivism vs. Individualism (n.d), Retrieved from http://freedomkeys.com/collectivism.htm Defining individualism and collectivism (2007), Retrieved from http://francoistremblay.wordpress.com/2007/03/13/defining-individualism-and-collectivism-2/ Harry T.C. (2001). Individualism-Collectivism and Personality. Retrieved from http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/jopy/2001/00000069/00000006/art00006 Individualism versus collectivism (2011), Retrieved from http://www.via-web.de/individualism-versus-collectivism/ Triandis H.C & Suh E.M. (2002), Cultural Influences On Personality. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2002. 53:133–60. Retrieved from http://web.yonsei.ac.kr/suh/file/Cultural%20influences%20on%20personality.pdf Read More