I always found the concept of individualist and collectivist culture very interesting. The categories behind the Geert Hofstede Analysis is classified into collectivism vs individualism, power distance, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation. As a Chinese-American, I have grown up in a somewhat individualist society with strong roots of collectivist culture within my family and culture. Hofstede’s analysis really hits home for me as I live within a stark range of contradictions. The means and categories of analysis is a good way to try to figure out different cultures. The most interesting category to me is collectivism vs individualism and uncertainty avoidance.
A collectivist society views “I” as “we” and societies/groups are integrated into strong ingroups. Everything is in the interest of the group. If a child is to voice the opinion deviating from what is collectively felt between the rest of the group, the child is usually shunned and seen to be bad character. This sums up most of my life with my family, especially since I am the one who deviates from the rest. There is also a large idea In Chinese culture, we are to value our family and put them above everyone else. Chinese families value their family to a greater extent compared to American households. The phenomena is based on the idea that you are born into this “group” and you are expected to be loyal to this group for life.
The minority of the world lives in an individualist society/group, where the interests of an individual is above others. The idea where everyone is expected to have their own ideas and develop their own personalities/ideas (and have support to deviate from the norm) is a foreign concept to me. Individualism also ties into uncertainty avoidance. Many Americans enjoy uncertainty as also shown through family interactions. Whether a child is going to university or just moving out of their parent’s house, many people are willing to move across the country with not much thought. I know many people who just packed up their lives and moved from New York to California without a second thought. Chinese culture is much different, where each step is carefully thought out and often coordinated between your families.
As I really know nothing about Turkish culture, I did a search on Cultural Altas, which is an Australian project with the goal to provide cultural profiles where most have some connections to the Hofstede Dimensions. As society tends to be more collectivist, the younger generations are more individualist, which is also common in China and Russia. Turkish culture is very family-centric and different generations of a nuclear often live together even through marriage. There are similarities to be found in Turkish culture when compared to Chinese culture. There is a strong value in elders, meanwhile in U.S culture, the elderly will prefer to live by themselves or in care facilities in efforts to alleviate the burden on their families. Using the Hofstede Dimensions of Culture and being able to compare it to your own culture is often the best way to figure out the values of another.
Comments