An examination of Individualism-Collectivism in modern China

--- from the perspective of college life among students in Hong Kong

and Mainland

1. Introduction
In the field of intercultural communication, many prominent theories have been raised

to guide contemporary researches. The cultural dimension theory introduced by

Hofstede and Bond is one of the most important theoretical frameworks in the modern

society, among which individualism-collectivism may be the most frequently cited

cultural dimension in studies of negotiation (Leung, 1998, as cited in Bazerman,

Curhan, Moore & Valley, 2000). This dimension refers to the preference of acting as

individuals or members of groups (Hofstede, 1994). The characteristics of a

collectivistic society include the emphasis of "we" rather than "I," the distinction

between in-group and out-group members, the respect and loyalty to the group

(Hofstede, 1994), as well as the fear of conflicts, fear of losing face, and the

maintenance of relationships (Trompenaars, 1993). On the other hand, Individualism

requires people to stand on their own feet (Hofstede, 1994) and shows no fear of

conflicts (Trompenaars, 1993).

From Hofstede's perspective (1984, 1994, 2010), Chinese-majority societies have

always been classified into collectivistic cultures. He suggests that the

"anti-individualistic, pro-collectivistic ethos is deeply rooted in the Chinese tradition"

(1984, p. 151). However, in recent years, many scholars (e.g., Lau, 1992; Ralston et
al., 1995; Chen, 2017) have questioned Hofstede's viewpoint by stating that Chinese

cultures show a high rank of Individualism. Therefore, this paper aims to examine

whether Chinese culture is as collectivistic as Hofstede thinks, or it contains the

features of Individualism. Since little research has been conducted on university

students in China to examine their values about Individualism-Collectivism, they will

be taken as the participants in this study. Moreover, even inside a specific culture, the

extent of Collectivism may vary as gender or region changes. Hence, apart from

generalizing the participants as a whole to explore the degree

of Individualism-Collectivism, this research also applies gender and region as

variables to study whether males and females, Hong Kong students and mainland

students will differ in this dimension.

2. Literature review
2.1 Individualism in Chinese societies

As demonstrated before, many scholars both from Eastern and Western countries have

found the gap between Hofstede's theory and the reality about Individualism in China.

Chen (2008) believes that, compared with the theory of Hofstede that polarizes

Individualism and Collectivism, the viewpoint of Triandis (2005) that culture is a

combination of both Individualism and Collectivism may be more suitable for

Chinese culture. Chen (2017) also thinks that cross-cultural researchers should not

generally believe that Chinese culture is typically collectivistic, but analyze the

individualism in China more detailed. The Chinese-style Individualism is growing

and more Western ways of thinking are adopted by the young generation (Ralston et

al., 1995). Lau (1992) even states that "the Chinese groups, especially the Mainland

Chinese, are not less individualistic than Americans, who are typically regarded as

more individualistic" (p. 365).

2.2 Gender difference in Individualism-Collectivism

A wide range of researches have been conducted to explore the relationship between

gender and Individualism-Collectivism. However, scholars today still hold opposite

viewpoints about whether males and females differ in this dimension. According to

Hofstede (2001), "there are no systematic differences in Individualism between

women and men" (p. 218). He also states that "groupness" is the feature of

Collectivism, not feminism. The studies of Gabriel and Gardner (1999) are in

accordance with this idea, as they found no gender differences on various tasks and

behaviors related to the independent self.

However, there are still a significant number of scholars who believe that "women

appear to be less individualistic and more collectivistic than men" (Lalwani & Shavitt,

2012, p. 455). For instance, Lyons (1983) found that males tend to be more separate

from others, while females are predominately willing to be connected with other

people. Cramer (2000) also stresses that "for males, issues of self-definition,

separateness, and autonomy are seen as more important" (p. 44), which can be

regarded as the characteristics of Individualism.

2.3 Difference between Hong Kong and Mainland in Individualism-Collectivism

Although originating from the same culture and sharing a common ancestry, people in
Hong Kong and the Mainland may still diverge in the dimension

of Individualism-Collectivism. However, the agreement has not been reached about

which side owns a higher degree of Individualism. On the one hand, through the

research on younger managerial trainees, Birnbaum-More, Wong, and Olve (1995, as

cited in Wong, 2001) found that the acquisition of Individualism was higher in

Mainland than in Hong Kong. On the other hand, many scholars believe that

Individualism ranks higher in Hong Kong than in Mainland (e.g., Hofstede, 2010). Tu,

Ting, and Liu (2009) found that "Hong Kong has the highest Individualism attitude

compared to Taiwan and Mainland China" (p. 44). Therefore, this research will also

take the regional disparity in Hong Kong and the Mainland as a variable to

explore Individualism-Collectivism.

3. Research questions
Based on the literature review, three research questions are formulated in this study:

Q1: Whether university students in China own the characteristics of Individualism

Q2: Whether male students tend to be more individualistic than female students

during college life in China

Q3: Whether Hong Kong students tend to be more individualistic than mainland

students during college life in China

4. Methodology
4.1 Participants
Through convenience sampling, the participants can be categorized into two groups:

Hong Kong and Mainland China university students. For the validity of the result,

participants are selected from those who were born and live locally in Hong Kong or

Mainland. Since gender is also taken as a variable in this study, both male and female

students are investigated. For the interview, four participants are drawn as Hong Kong

and the Mainland groups evenly.

4.2 Measures

In this research, quantitative and qualitative methods are used to collect data. For the

quantitative approach, a survey is conducted. In view of the different writing forms in

Mainland and Hong Kong, there are two versions of the survey, one in classic Chinese

and the other in simplified Chinese. The survey consisted of three multiple-choice

questions and 11 questions that were measured on a 5-point Likert scale. Three

multiple-choice questions are designed to investigate their education level, gender,

and region. In question 4-14, participants need to choose a number from 1 to 5 to

represent the degree of agreement towards the statement in each question. The

statements are designed referring to the characteristics of individualism and

collectivism raised by Hofstede (1984, 1994, 2010). Choosing the low score indicates

that the respondent disagrees with the question's standpoint, while the high

score suggests agreement. The higher degree of the agreement represents a higher

level of individualism, while a lower degree of the agreement represents a higher

collectivistic level. Questions are divided into five parts: individualistic thinking,

group sacrifice, group loyalty, problem consultation, and study aim. Participants filled
the survey anonymously, and 47 respondents responded. Since not all surveys were

valid, 40 survey results were included in the analysis.

To gain a better insight into the study behavior of each group, a qualitative method

was used. There are five questions in the interview regarding five aspects in the

college life: group identity, conflict avoidance, mistake correction group formation,

and in-group preference. Interviews were conducted with four university students

from Hong Kong and the Mainland, and students on both sides include one male and

one female. Interviews were conducted through WeChat due to the pandemic and

lasted 15 minutes each. Answers were recorded by note-taking, and four interviews

were filmed with consent.

5. findings
5.1 background information

Background information of participants is collected in the first three questions. All of

the respondents are university students consisting of 21 females and 20 males. Region

distribution is nearly even since 21 of them come from Mainland China, and 20 are

from Hong Kong.

5.2 Survey

Statistics of survey questions regarding the five aspects are presented below. The first

row in the chart shows all the responses' mean of involved questions. It aims to

investigate the extent of collectivism and individualism in China, including all the
participants from Mainland and Hong Kong. The remaining rows are designed to

investigate the difference between males and females, as well as between Hong Kong

and Mainland China. The higher mean indicated a higher degree of individualism and

vice versa.

5.2.1 Individualistic thinking

The first table exhibits the mean of questions concerning individualistic thinking.

Including all respondents together, the mean is higher than 3.5 in each of the three

questions, which indicates the tendency of individualism in this aspect. In terms of

gender, when comparing the mean of male with that of female, it reveals that there is

no significant difference between them. However, the average scores of males are

slightly higher than females. Therefore, the degrees of individualism of males and

females are basically the same, while males are slightly more individualistic than

females. Regional difference is also found in the data. According to the table, all the

scores of Hong Kong are higher than that of Mainland China. In question five, Hong

Kong has a score of 4.2, while Mainland China only has 3.5. It shows that students

from Hong Kong have a higher tendency towards individualism.

5.2.2 Group sacrifice

The theme of question 7 to 9 is group sacrifice. Investigating all respondents as a

whole, the following three questions are around 3, which shows the existence of both

individualism and collectivism. However, males are found to differ from females

significantly. The mean of the female student in the following questions is lower than

that of the male student. It reveals that females are more collectivist than males in

terms of group sacrifice. In comparison with Hong Kong, Mainland indicates a

preference for group sacrifice (Mainland vs. HK: 3<3.4, 3<3.5, 2.6<3). Therefore,

students in Mainland China are more collectivistic than Hong Kong students.

5.2.3 Problem consultation

The two questions above investigate the attitudes towards problem consultation.
Given the table, it is clear that question 10 differs from question 11 significantly. All

the scores of the former one are lower than 3, while all the scores in the latter one are

higher than 3.5. It shows that Chinese university students tend to be either

individualistic or collectivistic in different situations. In question 10, female students

are more likely to help in-group members than male students (1.9<3.3), which

indicates females are more collectivist than males. It is also shown that students from

Mainland China are more collectivist than those from Hong Kong, since the scores of

Mainland students are lower.

5.2.4 Group loyalty

This question examines the degree of group loyalty of interviewees. All of the scores

presented in the table are between 2 and 2.5. It shows students from both Hong Kong

and the Mainland tend towards collectivism. There is no apparent difference between

male (2.3) and female (2.2), while the discrepancy between Hong Kong (2.4) and

Mainland China (2) is relatively large. It proves that Mainland China has a higher

level of collectivism.

5.2.5 Study aim

Including all the participants as a whole, the scores of these two questions are 3.6 and

3.4, which indicates a tendency of individualism in terms of study aim. Compared

with females, males have a higher level of individualism (3.8>3.4, 3.5>3.2).

Specifically, students from Mainland China are found to have a higher score than

students in Hong Kong in question 14 (3.7>3). It reveals that although Hong Kong

may be more individualistic than Mainland China, exceptions still exist under some

circumstances.

5.3 Interview

In the following part, some points in the interview will be analyzed to support the

finding results. The interview consists of 5 questions, and each of them has a different

theme. Four students including two male students and two female students from Hong

Kong and Mainland China are interviewed.

5.3.1 Group identity

The first theme is designed to investigate whether the interviewees prefer to describe

themselves as individuals or members of groups. The regional difference

is evident while the difference between males and females is little. Both Mainland

students said, "I would like to describe myself as a member of a group." The
Mainland female student thought, "It gives me the feeling of belonging." It shows

they have a strong sense of collectivism. Both male and female students from Hong

Kong said, "It depends." The male student would describe himself as a member of a

group only if "The group can take me some benefits," and the female student thought

she only viewed herself as a member "If I were introducing myself to a particular

organization." It is clear that Hong Kong students are more individualistic since

whether they describe themselves as a member of a group depends on their personal

interests.

5.3.2 Conflict avoidance

From the interview, it is found that students from Mainland China tend to have a

higher degree of conflict avoidance. Both Hong Kong students said that "Conflict is

beneficial." It shows that they view conflicts positively, which indicates the

individualism. However, the female student from Mainland China thought that

"Conflict may influence the relationship." The male student from Mainland also

depicted the conflict as a "Double-edged sword." He said, "If the conflict improves

the group work, it's good. However, if it causes the intention among teammates, it's

bad."

5.3.3 Mistake correction

It is asked in this question that whether the interviewees will correct mistakes for

in-group members. There is a significant divergence between males and females. The

male student from Hong Kong said, "I wouldn't correct for others." The male student

from Mainland also said, "In most cases, I won't correct for them." When asking the
reasons, they mentioned that "everyone should be responsible for his part, so there is

no need to correct others." It indicates their Individualism as they think correcting

mistakes for in-group members is not their responsibility. However, the female

student from Hong Kong said, "I would firstly ask for their permission and correct it."

The female student from Mainland also said, "We are a team, so I'm obligated to

correct problems for them." It indicates females are enthusiastic about helping

in-group members. The conclusion can be drawn that females are more collectivist

than males.

5.3.4 Group formation

When being asked whether the formation of groups is ad hoc or not, the result of the

interview reveals that regional difference is significant. Both of the Hong Kong

students said, "Depending on the person." On the contrary, the male student from

Mainland mentioned, "Group formation can't be temporary. We will keep in touch,

and people with the same interest will become my friends." The female student in the

Mainland also said that "We will get in touch and form a team again in the future."

The preference for long-lasting group formation among students from Mainland

China indicates their tendency toward collectivism.

5.3.5 In-group preference

From the interview, it is found that both male and female, as well as students from

Hong Kong and Mainland, treat their in-group people better than others, which is a

typical feature of collectivism. The male student from Hong Kong said, "I am not

deliberately to overlook somebody or show discrimination to that person. It is just

because everybody will unconsciously play with their friends instead of strangers."

The male student from Mainland said, "Birds of a feather flock together. We treat our

buddy better since we have something in common." The female student from Hong

Kong answered, "I like studying and hanging out with my close friends." The female

student from Mainland also said, "You definitely want to be with someone you know

and have something in common with, rather than someone you don't know."

6. Discussion
6.1 Individualism among university students in China

In our research, it is shown that university students in China own the characteristics of

both Individualism and Collectivism, which answers research question 1. For instance,

on the one hand, they have high loyalty towards groups (Q12: average=2.2), which is

one of the main features of Collectivism (Hofstede, 1994). On the other hand, they

tend to show a high degree of Individualism in the aspect of individualistic thinking

(Q4, Q5, Q6: average>3.5). During the interview, the features of Individualism are

also mentioned by the interviewees, such as "Having conflicts means we will be better

in the future" and "letting him think individually is good for his personal

development." It supports the statements of Chen (2008) and Chen (2017) that

Chinese culture is a combination of Individualism and Collectivism, and the degree of

Individualism or Collectivism may vary in different aspects. However, it contradicts

Hofstede's viewpoint (1984; 1994; 2010) that China is a typical collectivistic country

and has the tradition of Collectivism. Therefore, it may be concluded that compared
with the past, the new "Chinese-style" Individualism (Ralston, 1995) among young

people has been growing in recent years.

6.2 Individualism-Collectivism among male and female students

In our research, male students tend to show a slightly higher degree of Individualism

than female students, which answers research question 2. In most of the survey

questions, the average of responses from male students is higher than females.

Moreover, during the interview, female students pay more attention to groupness than

males. For example, in the aspect of mistake correction, the female interviewee

mentions that "We are a team, so I am obligated to correct problems for them," while

male students think, "It is his own business." It supports the ideas of Lyons (1983) and

Cramer (2000) that males have a higher tendency of separateness while females prefer

to be connected with others. However, it is still noticeable that in some of the

questions, the responses of males and females present no difference. For example,

male students and female students get similar scores in terms of individualistic

thinking (e.g., Q5: the average of male=the average of female=4). Therefore, the

viewpoints of Hofstede (2001) and Gabriel and Gardner (1999) may also be correct

under some circumstances.

6.3 Individualism-Collectivism among students in Hong Kong and Mainland

China

It is also found that students in Hong Kong are basically more individualistic than

mainland students, which answers research question 3. In the majority of survey

questions, mainland students get lower scores than students in Hong Kong.
Additionally, as shown in the responses to the interview questions, students in

mainland China also appear to have more features of Collectivism than students in

Hong Kong. For instance, conflict avoidance is always regarded as the main

characteristic of Collectivism (Trompenaars, 1993), and both mainland students

mention the disadvantages of conflicts inside groups while interviewees in Hong

Kong only state that "Conflict is beneficial." This result is in accordance with the

findings of Tu, Ting and Liu (2009), and proves the idea of Hofstede (2010). However,

the existence of exceptions should also be noted, as mainland students get higher

scores than students in Hong Kong in Q14 (average: mainland 3.7>Hong Kong 3).

7. Conclusion & Limitations

To conclude, it is found in this research that university students in China own the

characteristics of both Individualism and Collectivism. In terms of gender, male

students tend to be more individualistic than females, and with regard to region,

students in Hong Kong have a higher degree of Individualism than students in

mainland China. However, there are still some limitations in this study. Firstly, the

sampling size is quite restricted, as only 40 survey respondents and 4 interviewees are

included in the analysis, so future research may extend the data size to improve the

reliability. Moreover, with respect to the regional difference, only students in Hong

Kong and mainland China are compared. Future studies can explore whether the

degree of Individualism among university students will change in different provinces

of mainland China. Last but not least, a study among university students is far from
enough to represent the overall situation of Chinese culture

about Individualism-Collectivism. Therefore, it is hoped that future studies will be

conducted to examine this cultural dimension among various social groups inside

China.
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