Individualism

The term individualism is typically contrasted with collectivism. Individualism generally refers to cultures that give priority to individual goals when those goals come into conflict with group goals. A person's identity is defined in terms of personal attributes and achievements as opposed to group attributes and achievements. Individualism is often equated with independence. Generally speaking, individualism is associated with countries in North America and Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

In his book Individualism and Collectivism, Harry Triandis summarized a great deal of research on individualism and collectivism. He suggested that individualism should refer to a description of a society. In other words, a society identifies the importance of the pursuit of individual goals and identities that are separate from the society itself. The degree to ...