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A groundbreaking international study led by Lingnan University, the ÃûæÂÖ±²¥, Leuphana University, and Varna University of Management, , challenges long-held perceptions about global cultural differences in individualism and collectivism.

Individualism and collectivism describe differing ways that societies can bind their members together. Individualist societies place a greater priority on acceptance of differences, personal freedom, and equal opportunities, whereas collectivist societies are more likely to emphasise conformity, tradition, and loyalty to close-knit groups, such as one’s extended family, tribe, or religious community.

It has long been assumed that individualism is exclusively found in Western societies and, in contrast, that East Asian societies have the highest levels of collectivism.

However, analysing data from 102 countries covering 88% of the world’s population, the team behind the research found that Japan and the United States – often portrayed as cultural opposites – differ by only 2.2 points on a 100-point scale of individualism. Their findings call into question one of psychology’s most enduring stereotypes: that of a binary contrast between “Western individualism” and “Eastern collectivism”.

Professor Vivian Vignoles, Professor of Social and Cross-Cultural Psychology at the ÃûæÂÖ±²¥ and one of the authors of the paper, comments:

“Research into global cultural diversity has been held back for decades by an East-West binary view of culture. Japanese psychologists have argued since the late 1990’s that the description of their society as collectivist is a stereotype, originating in the Second World War. Meanwhile, this binary thinking has also hindered research into the cultural characteristics of societies in parts of the world such as Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East that are neither ‘Eastern’ nor ‘Western’.”

The research shows that individualism is linked to socioeconomic development and is not limited to Western countries: prosperous East Asian societies like Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan now score highly on individualism. The world’s most collectivist societies are found not in East Asia but in various regions of the Global South, including Middle Eastern, sub-Saharan African, and Southeast Asian societies, with Bangladesh, Egypt, and Myanmar as the three most collectivist countries.

The results showed Great Britain to be the seventh most individualistic country with 69.4 points, placing it between New Zealand and Switzerland, and 7.5 points higher than the US. Sweden was the most individualist country, with a result of 75.7.

The researchers behind the study conclude that collectivism versus individualism is not an “East versus West” divide, but rather a reflection of how societies adapt to differing levels of socioeconomic development and existential security.

The study’s findings also contradict stereotypes of individualist societies as characterised by selfishness, atomisation, and unbridled competition. Professor Vignoles elaborates:

“On average, people living in individualist societies are if anything less self-centred, less likely to perceive their society as falling apart, and more likely to believe in various forms of equality. Individualism isn’t about selfishness; it’s about people treating each other as individuals – allowing them freedom, equal rights, and accepting their differences.”

The study also highlights major flaws in Dutch comparative culturologist Geert Hofstede’s influential 1980 cultural rankings, long used to justify assumptions of “Western individualism” and “Eastern collectivism.” It shows that his data – mostly based on surveys of IBM employees collected around 1970 – overestimated individualism in English-speaking Western countries by 27 points and collectivism in East Asia by 22 points, skewing global understanding of culture for decades.

The authors argue that continued reliance on Hofstede’s outdated scores has led to biased theories and questionable conclusions across multiple fields, from international business to public health. Even Hofstede Insights, the consultancy promoting his model (now trading as The Culture Factor), quietly revised its scores in 2023 amid rising concerns about accuracy.

The research team of the new study, published in the prestigious Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, developed a new Individualism–Collectivism Index using recent representative data from the and .

Using data from both surveys, they developed a new set of indices designed to capture three key facets of cultural individualism versus collectivism:

1. Personal freedom versus conformity to norms
2. Tolerance and inclusion versus exclusion of those who are different
3. Equality versus discrimination based on group membership

With comprehensive data from over 100 nations, this framework now offers the most accurate global representation of cultural differences in individualism-collectivism to date – particularly for previously underrepresented regions in Africa, the Middle East, East Europe, and West Asia.

This work supports the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 10 (reduced inequalities). You can read more about our work on the SDGs here. 

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