The article “Figuring Foreigners Out” goes over several concepts that exists in cultures. First, there is the idea that cultures have either individualism, collectivism, or a mix of both. Individualism is the concept of people primarily identifying with the self and relying on the self for survival. Collectivism is the opposite where the group is the smallest unit of survival because the wellness of the group leads to the wellness of the self. All cultures have a mix of both as the two ideas are the extremes. Another concept in cultures is the use of nonverbal communication. This could be facial expressions, body language, and gestures. Each culture has its own nonverbal communication while also sharing some with other cultures. Next, there is monochronic and polychronic time. Monochronic time is the idea that time is a commodity and there is a limited amount of it, hence, it must be used wisely. Polychronic time is the idea that time is limitless and that there is no such thing as “being busy”. Lastly, there is internal where the locus of control is within the individual and external control where the locus of control is outside of the individual’s control. No culture, once again, will be only internal and external.
The Geert Hofstede Analysis is an assessment of a country on its social culture. There are 5 metrics to this assessment. That is: power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation. The Power Distance Index measures the degree of equality or inequality in terms of power and wealth between people in society. Masculinity focuses on whether a country reinforces the traditional masculine role in the workplace. The Uncertainty Avoidance Index is the measure of tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity in society. Essentially, it’s how much a country is tolerant is a variety of opinions. Long-term Orientation measures the degree of embracement of long-term devotion to traditional, forward-thinking values.
I personally think that most of these measurements and concepts are good indicators in sort of shaping a culture. I think that for measuring masculinity, there should be an opposite side of the scale rather than just measuring masculinity alone. It could be interesting to measure both femininity and masculinity in a culture. Besides that, I think these measurements are fair metrics. For my native culture, I personally think that I could predict the results of an assessment done on Korea. For a lot of these measurements and concepts, I think that Korea leans towards one side. This is because Korea tends to be on the more conservative side. I know for one, Korean promotes the idea of individual success and needing to get things on your own, so Korea would towards individualism than collectivism. I also think that Korea would mostly hold the belief that time is monochronic. This is because Korea focuses on the idea of success and working hard towards it from a young age.
Replies
I'm delighted to hear that we bring up again individualistic versus collectivist cultures; last semester I took a social psychology class where we spent a lot of time dissecting the differences between them and how they apply to the real world. I feel like it is relatively easy to understand that Americans tend to be more individualistic, while parts of Asia can be seen as collectivist. Even if you just look at the way they handled covid you can see that while Americans did not care as much, Asian countries were on complete lockdown, ensuring that no one would pass away from COVID-19 even if it is not a direct family member, etc. I do agree with the generalization, although you have to remember that not everyone is like this; just because you come from an Asian country does not mean that you are immediately collectivistic Vice versa. Learning about Korean culture will be somewhat interesting because they do tend to lean collectivistic which is very different from an American approach. Although personally, I do not see myself as extremely one or the other. I also think that the Geert Hofstede Analysis is interesting to say the least, its interesting to see these ideologies placed on a scale in a sense, which again, there is some truth behind the assignment of specific things in a more modern world we know its not a binary relationship there are many forms of individualism vs collectivism.