Evaluate research on one cultural dimension

Cultural dimensions were ‘discovered’ by Hofstede in 1980. They are best described as the
values and norms of a culture that guide behavior. A dimension describes the trends of
behavior in a given culture. Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions: Power distance index, Individualism
vs. collectivism, Uncertainty avoidance index, Masculinity vs. femininity, Long-term vs. short-term
orientation, Indulgence vs. restraint

Hofstede argues that understanding cultural dimensions will help facilitate communication
between cultures. It is important in international diplomacy as well as international business.

In this essay I will be focusing on the cultural dimension of individualism vs collectivism, which is
the degree to which people are integrated into groups. Sometimes referred to as an “I” vs. a “we”
orientation. Individualistic cultures focus on uniqueness, individual achievement, freedom, and
self-actualization. These cultures also respect privacy. Collectivistic cultures focus on social
harmony, interdependence, modesty, and group memberships. In these cultures, it is not
appropriate to directly express one’s personal opinion or show emotion and privacy is less
important .There are several studies that look at how cultural dimensions may affect the behavior
of members of that culture, but there are questions about the validity of the research.

One influence of I-C on cultures is the level of conformity. Berry investigated the difference
in likeliness to conform between the Temne (a farming culture) and Inuits (a hunting
culture). Each group was made up of people who had never had a Western education and
maintained the traditional way of life - and people who were "in transition" - either have
Western education or Western employment. Lastly, he used Scots as a reference group.
Each participant was tested alone. They were shown a series of lines and asked to pick the
line that most closely matched another line (Asch’s line test). Directions were given in their
native language. On the third trial, the participants were told, “Most Temne (or Inuit)
believe that line 4 matches the line below. What do you think?” This continued for the rest
of the trials, with some of the responses being correct and some incorrect.

The Temne, which is a collectivistic culture, had a much higher rate of conformity when told
what other Temne believed, even though it was incorrect. The Inuits, on the other hand,
had an even lower rate of conformity than the Scots. He argued that this is because farming
communities need to be more reliant on one another than hunting communities, which are
more independent.

The study is highly standardized so it is replicable, allowing researchers to test the reliability
of the findings, and confoundinf variables were minimzed. However, the research is also
rather old, so it may no longer get the same results today. Another strength was that the
study was done in the native language of the participants, avoiding a confounding variable.
A limitation of the study is that the procedure is highly artificial, so it lacks ecological
validity. It is difficult to know if the participants would conform if the task was more
meaningful, and choosing the wrong answer has no personal risk for the participant.

I-C can also influence cognition, such as memory. Kulkoffsky carried out a study to see if
there were differences in the level of flashbulb memories in individualistic and collectivistic
cultures. The sample was made up of about 250 participants from five different cultures.
First, the participants were asked to recall memories of big news events in their lifetime.
They were then given a questionnaire that asked them questions about what they were
doing on the day of that event. They were also asked how important the event was to them
personally and how important it was to their country. The survey was conducted in their
native languages.
The results showed that Chinese participants (collectivistic) had fewer flashbulb memories
than Americans (individualistic). In collectivistic cultures, it is not culturally appropriate to
focus on the individual's own experiences and emotions. This may mean that there would
be less rehearsal of the memory of the event compared with participants from other
cultures - and so fewer FBMs. However, it was found that if the event was of national
importance, there was no significant difference in the level of FBMs
Unlike Berry’s experiment, this study has high ecological validity. However, it makes an
assumption that just because the participants say that they remember where they were and
what they were doing during the event, their memories are in fact accurate. Using their own
language may help the participants retrieve memories and avoid confounding variables in
the interpretation of the questionnaire.

There are some general concerns about research on cultural dimensions. First, the research
is etic in nature – that is, it makes an attempt to compare cultures. The test that Berry is
using is based on the Asch paradigm, a Western test. This assumes that conformity is the
same across all cultures and can be tested in this way. Kulkoffsky also makes an assumption
that flashbulb memories can be tested by using Brown & Kulik’s standardized interview
questions.
Hofstede also warns against the ecological fallacy—that is, when one looks at two different
cultures, it should not be assumed that two members from two different cultures must be
different from one another, or that a single member of a culture will always demonstrate
the dimensions which are the norm of that culture. That is – a person from a collectivistic
culture may be highly autonomous and someone from an individualistic culture may strive
for social harmony. We have to be careful of stereotyping, recognizing that these
expectations of the behavior of a member of a different culture open up the possibility of
stereotype threat.

Finally, the research is correlational in nature. It is not possible to argue that

culture causes these behaviors. That being said, using dimensions is a good way to discuss
cultural differences and to challenge us in our own ethnocentrism.

In conclusion, collectivism/individualism has a strong influence on the likelihood of creating

flashbulb memories and influencinf confomaty Although research seems to support that
there are cultural differences that reflect a culture’s dimensions, it is important to consider
the limitations of the research. Cultural dimensions lead to an “etic” approach to research in
which we compare cultures, rather than an emic approach which simply tries to understand
a single culture. Dimensions are a good way to generalize about cultures, but not a good
way to talk about the behaviour of individuals.