Complexifying Individualism Versus Collectivism and West Versus East: Exploring Global Diversity in Perspectives on Self and Other in the Gallup World Poll

Abstract

A wealth of research has suggested the West tends toward individualism and the East toward collectivism. We explored this topic on an unprecedented scale through two new items in the 2020 Gallup World Poll, involving 121,207 participants in 116 countries. The first tapped into orientations toward self-care versus other-care (“Do you think people should focus more on taking care of themselves or on taking care of others?”). The second enquired into self-orientation versus other-orientation (“Which of the following is closest to your main purpose in life? Being good at what you do in your daily life, Caring for family and close friends, or Helping other people who need help?”). We anticipated that self-care and self-orientation would index individualism (hence be higher in the West), while other-care and other-orientation would index collectivism (hence be higher in the East). However, contrary to expectation, there was greater self-care in the East (45.82%) than in the West (41.58%). As predicted though, there was greater self-orientation in the West (30.20%) than in the East (23.08.%). Greater self-care in the East invites one of two interpretations. Either these items: (a) index individualism and collectivism as anticipated, so in some ways the East is more individualistic and the West less individualistic than assumed; or (b) do not index individualism and collectivism as anticipated, so the concepts are more complex than often realized (e.g., collectivism may involve prioritizing self-care over other-care). Either way, the findings help complexify these concepts, challenging common cross-cultural generalizations in this area.

Work-family conflict and depressive symptoms among working couples: a spillover-crossover process

“…Second, while the majority of WFC research has been undertaken in Europe or Western countries [2], [11], [16]- [17], our current research has extended the existing literature by investigating the spillover-crossover study in Eastern countries, specifically in Muslim-dominated countries such as Malaysia. Even though Eastern countries are collectivist while Western countries are more individualistic [18], our current findings also support the literature by reporting that WFC in an individual could cross over to a spouse's psychological health. By extending the WFC study in Malaysia, our present study has added new knowledge to the existing literature in order to understand the process of spillover and crossover across many countries.…”

Mental illness and help-seeking behaviours among Middle Eastern cultures: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative data

“…This underscores the enduring influence of factors such as family roles, cultural values, and religious beliefs on stigmatisation in individuals from the Middle East, regardless of their location, whether they live in the West or the East. While this phenomenon is not limited to Middle Eastern cultures and has broader cross-cultural implications, the strong emphasis on collectivism and family interconnectedness in the Middle East compared to the West, may contribute to increased stigma surrounding seeking help for mental health issues [ 73 ]. For example, seeking such help could be perceived as a personal failure that brings shame to the family.…”

Does it matter who harmed whom? A cross-cultural study of moral judgments about harm by and to insiders and outsiders

“…Second, future research should incorporate questions to assess participants’ personal collectivist or individualist tendencies, as recent literature challenges oversimplified interpretations of collectivism and individualism based solely on culture (Zhang & Han, 2023 ; Lomas et al, 2023 ; Santos et al, 2017 ). These studies highlight the need to analyze collectivism and individualism attitudes more carefully, considering a broader range of individual features, including moral considerations, to complexify the debate.…”