Are Collectivist Societies Better at Managing National Crisis?

Abstract

Based on the cultural psychology literature, we investigate which type of society is more effective in response to national crisis by comparing four aspects of individualistic and collectivistic states – sense of unity, conspiracy theories, political policy, and technology advancement. Our analysis suggests that the stronger psychological sense of unity and lower impact of conspiracy theories in collectivist societies leads to stronger support for government policies, resulting in more efficient response to national crisis in the short term. However, these features in collectivist nationals may suppress creativity and technology advancement, which compromise their effectiveness in combating national crisis in the long run.