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Collectivism

Collectivism is defined as an orientation that reflects the values, attitudes, and behaviors of a person-group relationship in which family and group life is emphasized and the concept of the self is less essential. Collectivism emphasizes an interdependence among individuals in their ingroups (e.g., family, tribe, nation), with the expectation that members give priority to the goals of the group, and shapes the norms of group behavior. For example, children in collectivistic cultures are not encouraged to individuate from their parents; instead, children tend to obtain psychological well-being and a sense of security through obedience to, and dependence on, their parents. In essence, in collectivistic cultures, groups bind and mutually obligate individuals.

Ingroup and Outgroup

An important defining feature of collectivistic cultures pertains to the dynamics of ingroups and outgroups. In collectivistic cultures, individuals usually belong to a few ingroups (e.g., family, coworkers, and friendship circles). The welfare of their ingroups is viewed as a priority, and individuals are expected to make efforts for the groups' well-being. Specifically, they are encouraged to retain connectedness among individuals, promote ingroups' goals and interests through cooperation, and avoid open conflicts. Because of the emphasis on group harmony, cooperation, and collective goals, individuals in the ingroups are perceived as interdependent and selfless. For example, individuals tend to be concerned about the impact of their behavior on members of their ingroups and tend to shape their behavior based on the norms of the groups. Moreover, individuals from a collectivistic culture tend to share resources with ingroup members and feel cared for and a sense of belongingness by being involved in the lives of other ingroup members.

Although relatedness is a defining element of collectivism among individuals in the ingroups, it does not apply to everyone else in outgroups. In collectivistic cultures, individuals' attitudes tend to be sharply different toward others in outgroups. For example, a cooperative relationship is highly unlikely with others who belong to outgroups. Individuals tend to treat those in outgroups with distance and clear boundaries.

Collectivism and Psychological Functioning

Scholars who have examined relations between collectivism and psychological functioning have found that collectivism contributes significantly to social, collective, and related aspects of the self-concept. For example, researchers found that collectivism was associated with decentrality of self-concept and perception of the self as part of larger social groups and endeavors; consequently, the personal needs and goals of members of collectivistic cultures should be deferred for the unity of the collective group. Moreover, personal traits that are facilitative to the maintenance of group connectedness are especially favorable in collectivistic cultures, such as being willing to sacrifice for collective benefits, being skillful in maintaining close relationships with ingroup members, and being mindful of preserving group harmony. Not surprisingly, when in conflictual situations, individuals attend to preserving relationships rather than achieving justice. Direct confrontation is usually tension provoking and undesirable in solving a conflictual situation. Studies on relationality and groups also suggest that collectivism is associated with equality. People from collectivistic cultures who showed more willingness to remain in relationships indicated ingroup preference, even in personally costly ones, and presented different forms of face-saving. Additionally, collectivism was found to have a correlation with a flexible and more ambiguous personality in that people from collectivistic cultures tend to place more focus on contexts, have less concern for consistency, and be less interested in self-enhancement as they tended to adjust themselves to their ingroups. Moreover, in organization research, collectivism was found to be associated with lower preference to work alone, lower performance in solo tasks, and more focus on work conditions and human relations. Thus, collectivism does appear to be related to psychological processes.

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