Abdulrahman Alajmi Dr.Powell English 1020: Research Paper 2 Differences between collectivistic and Individualistic Societies Collectivistic and individualistic societies are two different dimensions which cast different effects on the individuals who are living in these different societies. Hofstede was the first researcher who had discriminated between these two types of cultures and had defined them fully. According to him, the individualistic cultures are those cultures in which the ties between different individuals are quite loose. Expectations from such individuals are that they are responsible for taking care of themselves and their immediate family if necessary. On the other hand, collectivistic societies are those societies in which there is more integration and cohesiveness. They need to look after each others in larger groups and people keep o doing it lifetime with questioning the loyalty of other individuals (Uicol. Kim). Still, there are contradictions in the literature about which of the cultural system is more appropriate (Lynch). Research shows that people in individualistic society have personal motivations in life whereas; people from collectivistic societies show a shared sense of experience while achieving their goals (Banani and Vryonis). Usually the literature calls the individualism an American style of leading the life where every individual is responsible for what he/she does (Kallen). In addition to that, it has been said that there may be lesser chances of responsibility of motherhood in individualistic societies as compared to collectivistic societies. There are various differences in the individuals who are living in these two different types of societies that is; people from collectivistic society consider them responsible for what is going on in their groups and their success and failure are associated with success and failure of their related group. On the other hand, the feeling of success and failure in people of individualistic societies are related to their personal pursuits contradictorily (U. Kim). Not only, both of the cultures types are different in their attributes but they are also different when they are seeking help. The matter becomes more complex when an individual needs to seek out help for some psychological issue. It has been observed that people from Asian countries are more reluctant when it comes to seeking help for their psychological problems. The reason is that a stigma is attached to psychological problems in collectivistic societies where the individual is integrated into the larger group and may contaminate the larger art of the society. On the other hand, no such stigmatization is attached to psychological problems in collectivistic societies where people are on their own (Papadopoulos). Another study conducted in Korea also revealed that people from collectivistic societies are more defending when they are stigmatized for the.

1. Abdulrahman Alajmi
Dr.Powell
English 1020: Research
Paper 2
Differences between collectivistic and Individualistic
Societies
Collectivistic and individualistic societies are two
different dimensions which cast different effects on the
individuals who are living in these different societies. Hofstede
was the first researcher who had discriminated between these
two types of cultures and had defined them fully. According to
him, the individualistic cultures are those cultures in which the
ties between different individuals are quite loose. Expectations
from such individuals are that they are responsible for taking
care of themselves and their immediate family if necessary. On
the other hand, collectivistic societies are those societies in
which there is more integration and cohesiveness. They need to
look after each others in larger groups and people keep o doing
it lifetime with questioning the loyalty of other individuals
(Uicol. Kim). Still, there are contradictions in the literature
about which of the cultural system is more appropriate (Lynch).
Research shows that people in individualistic society
have personal motivations in life whereas; people from
collectivistic societies show a shared sense of experience while
achieving their goals (Banani and Vryonis). Usually the
literature calls the individualism an American style of leading
the life where every individual is responsible for what he/she
does (Kallen). In addition to that, it has been said that there
may be lesser chances of responsibility of motherhood in
individualistic societies as compared to collectivistic societies.
There are various differences in the individuals who are living
in these two different types of societies that is; people from

2. collectivistic society consider them responsible for what is
going on in their groups and their success and failure are
associated with success and failure of their related group. On
the other hand, the feeling of success and failure in people of
individualistic societies are related to their personal pursuits
contradictorily (U. Kim).
Not only, both of the cultures types are different in their
attributes but they are also different when they are seeking help.
The matter becomes more complex when an individual needs to
seek out help for some psychological issue. It has been observed
that people from Asian countries are more reluctant when it
comes to seeking help for their psychological problems. The
reason is that a stigma is attached to psychological problems in
collectivistic societies where the individual is integrated into
the larger group and may contaminate the larger art of the
society. On the other hand, no such stigmatization is attached to
psychological problems in collectivistic societies where people
are on their own (Papadopoulos). Another study conducted in
Korea also revealed that people from collectivistic societies are
more defending when they are stigmatized for their help seeking
behaviors as compared to people from collectivistic
societies(Yoo).
Literature also reveals that there are differences in the
social comparisons as well as the self esteem of the individuals
who are living in individualistic and collectivistic societies.
Results of one study indicated that the individuals from
collectivistic societies tend to make more social comparisons
because they are tied into such ties where they feel integrated
and they cannot without comparing themselves to others. This
attribute increases with the scores of collectivism. Such people
tend to make upward comparison more as compared to
downward comparisons. On the other hand, those people
compare themselves less with others who got higher scores on
individualism. Addition to this finding, research also revealed

3. that self esteem is associated with the feeling that an individual
can strive for an upward position in collectivistic society
whereas; this self esteem is related to personal success in
individualistic societies (Chung and Mallery).
Being a member of the collectivistic and individualistic society
also affects the memory of the individuals for the events which
can be categorized as the individualistic or collectivistic events.
In order to evaluate this idea, the researchers had conducted
research in which college students were asked to memorized
events from their past and categorize them as individualistic or
collectivistic events. After some days, their confidence about
accuracy of their memories had been evaluated. It had been
observed that individualistic or collectivistic backgrounds of
the college students made them to be more confident about their
memories which were individualistic or collectivistic
respectively (Zahle and Collin).
References
Individualism Vs Grouping : Leisure Intelligence, May 2009.
London: Mintel, 2009. Print.
Banani, Amin, and Speros Vryonis. Individualism and
Conformity in Classical Islam. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1977.
Print.
Chung, Tyson, and Paul Mallery. "Social Comparison,
Individualism-Collectivism, and Self-Esteem in China and the
United States." Current Psychology 18.4 (1999): 340-52. Print.
Kallen, Horace Meyer. Individualism; an American Way of Life.

4. New York,: Liveright, 1933. Print.
Kim, Uichol. Individualism and Collectivism : A Psychological,
Cultural and Ecological Analysis. Copenhagen: NIAS
Publications, 1995. Print.
Kim, Uichol. Individualism and Collectivism. Copenhagen
NIAS 1995. Print.
Lynch, Pat. The Unresolved Tension : Individualism or
Community? London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1997. Print.
Papadopoulos, Chris. "Stigma Towards People with Mental
Health Problems [Electronic Resource] : An Individualism-
Collectivism Cross-Cultural Comparison." Middlesex University
2009. Web.
Yoo, Sung-Kyung. Individualism-Collectivism and Tolerance of
Stigma Associated with Help-Seeking among Koreans. S.l.:
Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse, 2000. Print.
Zahle, Julie editor, and Finn editor Collin. Rethinking the
Individualism-Holism Debate : Essays in the Philosophy of
Social Science. Print.
Alajmi 1
Abdulrahman Alajmi
Dr.Powell
English 1020: Literacy Narrative
Paper 1
My Literacy Experience

5. Literacy is defined as the ability to read and/or write efficiently
in any given language. It can be used to classify societies based
on their abilities to read and/or write. In fact, a world wide
numerical figure, known as the literacy rate, is commonly used
to reveal different things about any country, the population,
standard of living, political influence, and even economic
status. This is because the literacy rate is associated with a
gamut of factors that go beyond one’s culture. Personally, I am
blessed for the ability of being literate in Arabic, which is my
mother tongue. However, my journey towards becoming literate
in English, as a second language, has proven to be a challenging
and interesting journey.
Growing up in Kuwait, I was raised in a society that
was blessed with an abundance of Oil. This resulted in an
economic boom for Kuwait and the country experienced speedy
development during that time. Arabic is the national language
of Kuwait as well as the language of Islam, the religion under
which Kuwait follows. Therefore, reading and writing in Arabic
is an essential requirement for any and all academic institutions
in the country. By focusing on education and development of
the Kuwaiti youth, emerging generations are associated with a
high literacy rate. As a Kuwaiti national, I am proud that the
overall literacy rate for Kuwait’s population lies at 93.8%.
Luckily, reading is one of the habits supported within
my immediate family and friends. This was sparked when my
older sister saw the movie Matilda. She was so infatuated by it
and thus, I was curious to know about this movie myself. After
watching Matilda, and with much explaining from my sister, my
childhood had just begin. As children, we would sit and read
wonderful stories with happy endings, heroes, and positive
takeaways. One of my favorite pastimes, once my parents have

6. gone to sleep, is staying up after bedtime to continue reading
with her. I used to read all sorts of stories that were based on
cartoons, religion, common tales, and imaginary fantasies. This
variety of books during my early years sparked my interest to
learn unique and new things. I had noticed that my academic
performance was positively impacted from my habit of reading.
Aside from school, reading allowed me to transfer my emotions
and internal thoughts through words. I can also clearly read and
understand difficult Arabic text. Difficult Arabic text here
implies the formal Arabic style of writing. This style of Arabic
is not used for common speech; yet, it is the language in which
our Holy Book is written. Deep down, I was also still waiting
for my super powers to come.
As I grew older and became a teenager, the types of
books I read expanded and my parents encouraged me to read
books with morale lessons, ethical dilemmas, and realistic
outlooks on life. Their reasoning for this push was to help me
build my character and shape my personality. Being a
teenager also made me realize just how fast our world is
changing. In fact, technology is driving us forward in ways
humans never thought would be possible. In order to keep up,
we must be well equipped to understand and adapt to such
changes and progress. This includes what we learn, the devices
we use, the systems we operate, and the people we meet. It was
as simple as buying my first cell phone. I was exposed to
several English terms and had slowly adjusted myself to
identify them and interpret their meanings in due time.
Unknowingly, I started my journey towards learning English.
After all, almost every movie, cartoon, or other types of media
had been translated into Arabic during my childhood. Up until
my teen years, I did not think I would one day shift to watching,
reading, and writing in English without Arabic subtitles or
translations.

7. When I was asked by my parents about my next steps
beyond high school, I knew that the time to be literate in
English arrived. I needed to efficiently and effectively utilize
the English language to read and learn about different majors,
schools, programs abroad, and certifications necessary to
achieve any career I aimed to pursue. This meant that I had to
have a high literacy rate in English, which is not as heavily
taught or supported when compared to Arabic in Kuwait. I
resorted to everything I knew from reading during my
upbringing, my teenage years, and the opportunities that lay
ahead to come to the conclusion of becoming an Engineer. If I
had not stepped out of my comfort zone and taken on the
challenge of learning English, I could not have enrolled in any
U.S. academic institution. Nor am I able to pursue any
accredited degree elsewhere beyond the Arab World without
efficient English literacy. I am curious as to whether or not I
would have pursued a degree in Engineering had I not taken on
English?