Comparing the Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Collectivism Scale and the Auckland Individualism and Collectivism Scale in Two Cultures

Abstract

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Collectivism Scale (HVIC) and the Auckland Individualism and Collectivism Scale (AICS). The sample consisted of 1,403 working individuals from Switzerland (N = 585) and from South Africa (N = 818). Principal component factor analyses indicated that a two-factor structure replicated well across the two countries for both scales. In addition, Article

Depression and Disordered Gaming: Does Culture Matter?

“…This finding supports a significant body of literature advocating the influence of cultural orientation on the associations between psychopathologies and addictive behaviors in general, and in particular DG (Singelis et al, 1995;Györkös et al, 2013;Winkler et al, 2013;Taymur et al, 2016;Stavropoulos, Anderson et al, 2017;Stavropoulos et al, 2018c). More specifically, employing the integrative internet abuse framework, suggested by Stavropoulos et al (2016), a more vertically individualistic orientation may foster and host achievement, competition, and ranking drives that when matched by mechanisms of the game could render the gamer more vulnerable to DG (Singelis et al, 1995;Györkös et al, 2013;Stavropoulos et al, 2018b). Indeed, vertically individualistic cultural orientation endorses behaviors related to self-driven achievement, an innate cultural value that is strongly reflected in the motivational appeal of the MMORPG genre.…”

“…This finding contradicts existing literature describing the influence of gender on DG behaviors (Singelis et al, 1995;Chumbley & Griffiths, 2006;Yen et al, 2019;Anderson et al, 2017;Beard et al, 2017). Regarding the broad associations between gender differences and internet gaming motivations (aside of cultural orientation differences), research has in general emphasized that males are typically driven by achievement and immersion, while females are typically driven by social relationships (Györkös et al, 2013;Burleigh et al, 2018;Adams et al, 2018;Stavropoulos et al, 2018b;Stavropoulos et al, 2018c). However, genderbased motivations have been found to vary across cultures, as indicated by cross-cultural research (Beard & Wickham, 2016;Stavropoulos et al, 2018b).…”

“…Similarly, individualistic features, related to independence and social disconnection aspects, may predispose addictive disorders such as DG. Furthermore, a combined vertical-individualistic cultural orientation could predict higher DG risk (Györkös et al, 2013;Stavropoulos et al, 2016).…”

“…Despite the rationale supporting these hypotheses, there is scarcity of empirical research validating them. This is of particular importance to multicultural populations (e.g., Australia, USA, UK), where cultural diversity implicates differences in psychopathological risk and responsiveness to treatment (Györkös et al, 2013;Stavropoulos et al, 2016). More specifically, multicultural countries (such as the USA and Australia) have been assumed to present with a dominant cultural orientation of a westernized vertically individualistic quality (e.g., competitiveness and hierarchy tend to be more prominent and common), while at the same time, variations on these vertically individualistic tendencies exist due to the concurrent influence of other cultures (Vargas & Kemmelmeier, 2013).…”

“…Further, the extent that the effect of other DG-related factors, such as depressive mood, could be moderated (exacerbated) by a more vertically individualistic cultural orientation remains questionable (Stavropoulos et al, 2016;Stavropoulos et al, 2019b). Competitive and independence game-related motivations, potentially appealing among vertically individualistic gamers, could exacerbate DG vulnerability in the MMORPG context (Györkös et al, 2013;Stavropoulos et al, 2016). Given the aforementioned gap in the literature, the present study examines if-and to what extent-the association between depressive mood and DG behaviors can be exacerbated by higher vertically individualistic tendencies among a sample of gamers coming from multicultural societies.…”