Collectivistic cultures prioritize the needs and goals of the group over individual desires, emphasizing social interconnectedness and community well-being. This contrasts with individualistic cultures that focus on personal autonomy and self-reliance. Cultural differences significantly influence behavior, self-concept, and motivations for conformity or individuality.

1. By
Col Mukteshwar Prasad(Retd)
Based on inputs at the net
Collectivistic Cultures

2. Introduction
 Collectivistic cultures emphasize the needs and goals of the group as a
whole over the needs and wishes of each individual.
 In this cultures under mentioned play a central role in each person's identity.
 relationships with other members of the group and
 the interconnectedness between people
 Cultures in Asia, Central America, South America and Africa tend to be
more collectivistic.
 A few common traits of collectivistic cultures include:
 Social rules focus on
 promoting selflessness and
 putting the community needs ahead of individual needs
 Working as a group and supporting others is essential
 People are encouraged to do what's best for society
 Families and communities have a central role
 In collectivistic cultures, people are considered "good" if they are
 generous,
 helpful,
 dependable, and
 attentive to the needs of others.
 This contrasts with individualistic cultures that often place a greater
emphasis on characteristics such as assertiveness and independence

3. Introduction..
 A few countries that are considered collectivistic include
 Japan,
 China,
 Korea,
 Taiwan,
 Argentina,
 Brazil, and
 India.

4. How Do Collectivist Cultures Differ From Individualist
Cultures?
 Collectivist cultures are usually contrasted with individualistic cultures.
 Where collectivism stresses the important of the community,
 Unity and selflessness are valued traits in collectivist cultures
 workers who live in a collectivist culture might strive to sacrifice their
own happiness for the greater good of the group
 individualism is focused on the rights and concerns of each person.
 independence and personal identity are highly stressed in individualistic
cultures. ,
 may feel that their own well-being and goals carry a greater weight.
 These cultural differences are pervasive and can influence many aspects of
 How society functions.
 How people
 shop,
 dress,
 learn and

5. How Do Collectivist Cultures Influence Behavior?
 Cross-cultural psychologists study how these cultural difference impact
various aspects of behavior.
 Studies suggest that culture influences how people
 behave as well as
 self-concept.
 Researchers Markus and Kitayama found that people who come from
collectivist cultures tend to stress interdependence over independence.
 Those in individualistic cultures might describe themselves in terms of
personal traits and characteristics ("I am smart, funny, athletic, and
kind.").
 Those from collectivist cultures would more likely describe themselves in
terms of their social relationships and roles ("I am a good son, brother
and friend.“)

6. How Do Collectivist Cultures Influence Behavior?
 In one study by researchers Ma and Schoenemann,
 48 percent of American participants described themselves in terms of
individualistic psychological characteristics.
 Only 2 percent of Kenyans described themselves as individualistic culture
 Instead, 60 percent of the Kenyan participants described themselves in
terms of their group roles and memberships.
 Cultural differences also influence the motivation to either
 stand out of the group or
 fit in with the rest of the group.
 In experiments by Kim and Markus, participants from American and East
Asian cultures were asked to select a pen.
 Most of the pens were the same color, with a few options in different
colors.
 Most American participants chose the rarer colored pens.
 East Asian participants, on the other hand, were much more likely to
choose the most common colored pen.

7. References
 Kim, H.S., & Markus, H.R. (1999). Deviance or uniqueness, harmony or conformity? A cultural analysis. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 785-800.
 Ma, V., & Schoeneman, T.J. (1997). Individualism versus collectivism: A comparison of Kenyan and American self-
concepts.Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 19, 261-273.
 Markus, H.R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation.
Psychological Review, 98(2), 224-253.