Vertical Individualism Research Articles

Factors underlying differences in knowledge, explicit stigma and implicit biases towards autism across Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Attitudes towards autism vary across countries. Some of this variation could reflect differences in cultural values across countries, or differences in how much people know about autism. Until now, most research on this topic has asked people directly about their attitudes towards interacting with autistic people. As a result, we understand little about why some people unconsciously hold negative attitudes towards autism, and whether these unconscious attitudes vary across countries. We studied explicit attitudes (willingness to interact), implicit attitudes (unconscious beliefs), knowledge about autism, and cultural values in university students from Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States. We found that people were less willing to interact with autistic people if they knew less about autism, aligned with a competitive and hierarchical society ('vertical individualism'), did not see themselves as part of a collective whose members are equal (less 'horizontal collectivism'), and if they unconcsciously associated autism with negative attributes. Students in Hong Kong were less willing to interact with autistic people and had less understanding of autism compared to those in the United Kingdom and the United States. Unconscious biases did not differ across countries. Our findings highlight the need to combat misconceptions about autism to improve attitudes towards autistic people, especially in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, our results suggest that acquiring more accurate knowledge may not be sufficient to alter unconscious biases. Further research is needed to determine the factors underlying unconscious biases.

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions and Technostress: A Proposed Framework for the Malaysian Technical University Network Students

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of IND-COL of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension that can determine the level of technostress experienced by undergraduates’ students in the Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN) institutions with the presence of Perceived Instructor Support (PIS). More specifically, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship of Horizontal Individualism (HI), Vertical Individualism (VI), Horizontal Collectivism (HC) and Vertical Collectivism (VC) and the experience of technostress among undergraduates’ students of MTUN institutions with PIS as a mediator. For the purpose of this study, the simple random sampling technique will be utilized. This is done to ensure that each and every student studying in MTUN institutions has an equal opportunity of being selected as a sample. As part of a quantitative research approach, a series of questionnaire questions will be distributed to a total of 380 undergraduate students studying in Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA), Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM). This research seeks to present some determinant variables to minimize technostress and maintain a desired technology and digital literacy among undergraduates’ students in Malaysia by referring to the IND-COL of Hofstede Cultural Dimension and Person-Environment (P-E) Fit Theory.

Inter-relationships among individual views of COVID-19 control measures across multi-cultural contexts

Individual-level georeferenced data have been widely used in COVID-19 control measures around the world. Recent research observed that there is a trade-off relationship between people's privacy concerns and their acceptance of these control measures. However, whether this trade-off relationship exists across different cultural contexts is still unaddressed. Using data we collected via an international survey (n = 4260) and network analysis, our study found a substantial trade-off inter-relationship among people's privacy concerns, perceived social benefits, and acceptance across different control measures and study areas. People's privacy concerns in culturally tight societies (e.g., Japan) have the smallest negative impacts on their acceptance of pandemic control measures. The results also identify people's key views of specific control measures that can influence their views of other control measures. The impacts of these key views are heightened among participants with a conservative political view, high levels of perceived social tightness, and vertical individualism. Our results indicate that cultural factors are a key mechanism that mediate people's privacy concerns and their acceptance of pandemic control measures. These close inter-relationships lead to a double-edged sword effect: the increased positive impacts of people's acceptance and perceived social benefits also lead to increased negative impacts of privacy concerns in different combinations of control strategies. The findings highlight the importance of cultural factors as key determinants that affect people's acceptance or rejection of specific pandemic control measures.

Women entrepreneurship in marginalized communities: Does culture, Ubuntu, religiosity and ancestral relevance matter?

ABSTRACT Poverty alleviation at the bottom of the pyramid hitches, inter alia, on rural women entrepreneurship in emerging and marginalized economies. The study was focused on understanding the influence of cultural orientations (vertical individualism and horizontal collectivism) and peculiar African beliefs (social axioms) of Ubuntu, ancestral relevance and religiosity on rural women’s entrepreneurial intentions. Data was collected from 200 rural women in Zimbabwe. Analysis of data was done using structural equation modeling in Amos. Results revealed significant relationships between cultural orientations and African beliefs, as well as between Ubuntu and entrepreneurial intention. However, religiosity and ancestral relevance were not significantly related to entrepreneurial intention. In promoting rural women entrepreneurship, Governments, Non-Governmental organizations and financial institutions may include culture orientations and Ubuntu in their training manuals and also in screening potential entrepreneurs on loan applications.

Negative life events and their association with anxiety in adolescents with subthreshold depression

Subthreshold depression (SD) is a serious mental health problem in adolescents, and there is increasing evidence that depressive symptoms frequently occur alongside anxiety. Despite this, the extent to which negative life events (NLEs) are an associated factor in adolescents with SD comorbid with anxiety remains unclear. A total of 371 Chinese adolescents with SD were recruited (204 girls, 166 boys and missing data), ranging in age from 14 to 19 years (M = 16.34, SD = 0.96). All subjects were rated on the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC), the Individualism-Collectivism Scale (ICS), the Adolescent Life Events Questionnaire (ALEQ), and the Neuroticism Extraversion-Openness Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI-N). The SD adolescents with higher anxiety had higher neuroticism scores, more self-reported negative life events and vertical individual orientation than those with low anxiety, and more of them were female than male (all p < 0.05). Further logistic regression indicated that gender, severity of depressive symptoms, vertical individualism orientation, and neuroticism were significantly associated with anxiety symptoms (p < 0.05). Our cross-sectional study could not explain the causal relationship between the severity of individual anxiety and risk factors in SD adolescents. Our results suggest that SD adolescents with high anxiety are more likely to experience NLEs than SD adolescents with low anxiety. Gender, severity of symptoms, vertical individualism orientation, and neuroticism are independent risk factors for anxiety in SD adolescents.

Acculturation of Chinese migrant employees in the hospitality industry of South Korea: a profiling study

This study investigates the acculturation process of Generation MZ Chinese migrant workers in the South Korean hospitality industry, focusing on their experiences in overcoming language barriers and cultural differences. Employing snowball sampling, the study gathered data through online questionnaires from Chinese employees working in South Korea's hotels and restaurants, yielding 312 valid responses. The findings highlight the influence of individualism-collectivism orientations on acculturation strategies. Workers with a tendency towards horizontal individualism and collectivism generally prefer assimilation, whereas those with a vertical individualism orientation lean towards marginalization. Interestingly, vertical collectivists, who value social hierarchy and group responsibility, show a predilection for both segregation and integration strategies, underscoring the complex nature of acculturation. The study also found that educational level, Korean language proficiency, and length of stay in Korea significantly affect their acculturation strategy choices. Based on these findings, the study provides vital insights into the adaptation processes of Chinese migrant workers in South Korea's hospitality industry and offers theoretical and practical guidance for effectively recruiting and managing foreign employees, particularly those from China.

People’s political views, perceived social norms, and individualism shape their privacy concerns for and acceptance of pandemic control measures that use individual-level georeferenced data

BackgroundAs the COVID-19 pandemic became a major global health crisis, many COVID-19 control measures that use individual-level georeferenced data (e.g., the locations of people’s residences and activities) have been used in different countries around the world. Because these measures involve some disclosure risk and have the potential for privacy violations, people’s concerns for geoprivacy (locational privacy) have recently heightened as a result, leading to an urgent need to understand and address the geoprivacy issues associated with COVID-19 control measures that use data on people’s private locations.MethodsWe conducted an international cross-sectional survey in six study areas (n = 4260) to examine how people’s political views, perceived social norms, and individualism shape their privacy concerns, perceived social benefits, and acceptance of ten COVID-19 control measures that use individual-level georeferenced data. Multilevel linear regression models were used to examine these effects. We also applied multilevel structure equation models (SEMs) to explore the direct, indirect, and mediating effects among the variables.ResultsWe observed a tradeoff relationship between people’s privacy concerns and the acceptance (and perceived social benefits) of the control measures. People’s perceived social tightness and vertical individualism are positively associated with their acceptance and perceived social benefits of the control measures, while horizontal individualism has a negative association. Further, people with conservative political views and high levels of individualism (both vertical and horizontal) have high levels of privacy concerns.ConclusionsOur results first suggest that people’s privacy concerns significantly affect their perceived social benefits and acceptance of the COVID-19 control measures. Besides, our results also imply that strengthening social norms may increase people’s acceptance and perceived social benefits of the control measures but may not reduce people’s privacy concerns, which could be an obstacle to the implementation of similar control measures during future pandemics. Lastly, people’s privacy concerns tend to increase with their conservatism and individualism.

How Do Individualism and Collectivism Influence Pro-Environmental Purchasing Behavior Based on Environmental Self-Identity?

Consumer behavior contributes to the environmental crisis worldwide. This study examines the influence of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism (HVIC) on pro-environmental purchasing behavior based on environmental self-identity. We surveyed 542 Korean adults aged 20–69 online. We analyzed the data using correlation, paired t-tests, and multiple regression analyses. First, we found that the group with high-level environmental self-identity showed significantly higher levels of pro-environmental purchasing behavior, horizontal individualism (HI), horizontal collectivism (HC), and vertical collectivism (VC). No significant difference was observed in vertical individualism (VI). Second, in the low-level group, the influencing factors were gender (ref. female), age, VI, and VC. Third, in the high-level group, the influencing factors were HC, HI, and VC. Cultural values are an important aspect of pro-environmental purchasing behavior based on environmental self-identity.

Vertical individualism orientations and mental health stigma: the mediating role of belief in free will

Vertical individualism orientations and mental health stigma: the mediating role of belief in free will

Prevalence and psychological correlates of anxiety symptoms in subthreshold depressive adolescents with a high level of rumination response style

This study examined between anxiety symptoms in subthreshold depressive (SD) adolescents with rumination and their personal predispositions. A total of 371 SD adolescents were enrolled in the study (females 55.26%, mean age = 16.34, SD = 0.96). The adolescents completed the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC), Center for Epidemiological Survey-Depression Scale (CES-D), Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), Individualism-Collectivism Scale (ICS), and Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC). Results following univariate analysis, logistic regression (backward: Wald), and the area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) revealed a pattern among individuals with subthreshold depression and high levels of rumination. The SD adolescents with a high level of rumination scored higher on vertical individualism, which values independence, autonomy, competitiveness, and a desire for high status. Additionally, they also exhibited higher athletic competence, a self-esteem dimension related to one’s perceived skill, ability, and confidence in physical activities and sports. The combination of vertical individualism and athletic competence differentiated SD adolescents from those without anxiety symptoms. Our results suggest high vertical individualism and high athletic competence likely contribute to anxiety symptoms in SD adolescents with a high level of rumination.

Individualism-Collectivism and COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors in Young Adults: The Indirect Effects of Psychological Distress and Pandemic Fears

Stemming on the theoretical framework of individualism-collectivism, this study aims to interpret COVID-19 prevention behaviors in young adults in the light of cultural orientations, hypothesizing the mediating role of two pandemic affects (i.e., fear for COVID-19 consequences and psychological distress during pandemic). Participants were 296 young adults living in Italy (Mage = 23.96, SDage = 3.04; 79.7% women), who completed an online anonymous survey. Data were gathered from December 2020 to May 2021. A path analysis model explored direct and indirect relationships among study variables. Psychological distress significantly reduced the compliance with prevention measures, whereas pandemic fears increased it. The collectivistic orientations (Vertical Collectivism and Horizontal Collectivism) positively predicted prevention behaviors via increasing pandemic fears. The egalitarian dimensions (Horizontal Individualism and Horizontal Collectivism) were positive predictors of compliance via reducing psychological distress during pandemic. Finally, Vertical Individualism was a risk factor that negatively predicted prevention behaviors both directly and indirectly, via increasing psychological distress. The results provide new insights into the emotional mechanisms that link individualism and collectivism orientations to COVID-19 prevention behaviors, with interesting implications for public health policies, prevention, and future research.

Predicting attitudes toward mitigation interventions and social distancing behaviors at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

ABSTRACT Aim The goal of this research was to assess the influence of adult attachment, personality, and cultural orientation on social distancing and attitudes toward COVID-19 mitigation interventions. Methods Survey data was collected across two samples (NMTurk = 201, Nsnowball = 242) in the US from April 29 to May 11, 2020. Adult attachment was assessed via the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Short Form (ECR-S; Wei, M., Russell, D. W., Mallinckrodt, B., & Vogel, D. L. (2007). The experiences in close relationship scale (ECR)-short form: Reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 88(2), 187–204), personality was assessed via the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI; Gosling, S. D., Rentfrow, P. J., & Swann, W. B. (2003). A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37(6), 504–528), cultural orientation was assessed via the Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Collectivism Scale (Triandis, H. C., & Galfand, M. J. (1998). Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 118–128), and social distancing and attitudes toward mitigation interventions were assessed via self-report measures developed for this assessment. Results In the MTurk sample, agreeableness (β = .19) and conscientiousness (β = .26) predicted positive mitigation intervention attitudes. Agreeableness (β = .24) and vertical collectivism (β = .25) positively predicted social distancing, while attachment anxiety (β = −.32) and vertical individualism (β = −.32) negatively predicted social distancing. In our snowball sample, residing primarily in New York, openness (β = .18) and horizontal collectivism (β = .16) predicted positive intervention attitudes, while horizontal individualism (β = −.20) predicted negative attitudes. Social contact in this sample was low and not associated with predictor variables. In both samples, mitigation attitudes and social distancing were only moderately correlated. Implications Our findings highlight the inherent inconsistency between attitudes and behaviors as well as the potential impact of mandated interventions on both attitudes and behavior.

Vertical Individualism As a Motivating Factor in Perceiving CSR Advertising for East Asian Markets: Korea and China

This study expands the prior corporate social responsibility (CSR) studies in East Asia by demonstrating that vertical individualism, which is a rarely studied dimension for consumers in East Asia, plays an important role in processing CSR ads. Furthermore, based on the generational cohort theory and gender theory in the cultural context, through an online survey design, this study’s findings show that the effect of vertical individualism on consumers’ purchase intention varied across generations in East Asia: Korea (study 1; n = 221; 51% female) and China (study 2; n = 201; 47% female). For consumers in China, regardless of gender, vertical individualism is a crucial factor in triggering a strong purchase intention toward CSR ads among older consumers. However, for consumers in Korea, gender effects were found that females (males) were not sensitive (were sensitive) to the effects of vertical individualism on product evaluations across generations. Theoretical and managerial implications are further discussed.

Loneliness and relationship dispositions in emerging adults: Gender and culture as moderators

AbstractPrior research has provided evidence of the link between loneliness and the number of past sexual partners—suggesting the role of short‐term intimate connections as a strategy to fulfill belongingness needs. The current study examined whether increased loneliness was associated with increased tendencies to engage in short‐term sexual (sociosexuality) and romantic (emophilia) relationships with a sample of 319 Malaysian emerging adults. We also tested whether these associations varied by gender and cultural orientation. Findings from a cross‐sectional survey revealed that lonelier individuals generally reported higher emophilia. The positive association between loneliness and sociosexuality, however, was only present among those who were high in vertical individualism (i.e., socialized to construe themselves as independent and different from others). Gender did not moderate either of these associations. These results suggest that the loneliness‐driven short‐term connections may be less readily manifested as sexual tendencies in populations that are more sexually conservative. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the role of cultural differences at the individual level in addition to the overall cultural context when examining intimate relationship tendencies.

Individualism-Collectivism: A Brazilian-Portuguese Version of Triandis and Gelfand’s Scale

Human values play an essential role in life, highlighting what is socially desirable and influencing people’s actions. In order to deliver a way of measuring such construct, this work aimed to test the stability of the horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism scale (HVIC) structure in Brazil through some of its states. Two studies were conducted. Study 1 presented the validation of the measurement tool replicating the original Triandis and Gelfand (1998) study, comparing similar samples in Brazil and the USA (undergraduate students; N = 200 to each group). The structure found was similar in both countries, but the modification indexes suggest a change in one item load compared to the original study. Study 2 compared data from five Brazilian states, (blue-collar workers; N = 5,589). Results revealed that the four-factor structure was well adjusted and showed minor differences between and within states. Practical and theoretical contributions were provided in particular for horizontal and vertical dimensions, in particular, challenging the horizontalism found in previous studies and suggesting other groups of references in Brazil.

Evaluation of the maximum tongue and lip pressure in individuals with Class I, II, or III Angle malocclusions and different facial types.

To compare the maximum anterior and posterior tongue pressure, tongue endurance, and lip pressure in Class I, II, and III malocclusions and different facial types. A cross-sectional observational analytical study was carried out in 55 individuals (29 men and 26 women) aged between 18 and 55 years. The participants were divided into groups according to Angle malocclusion (Class I, II, and III) and facial type. The maximum anterior and posterior tongue pressure, tongue endurance, and maximum lip pressure were measured using the IOPI (Iowa Oral Performance Instrument). To determine the facial type, the cephalometric analysis was accomplished using Ricketts VERT analysis as a reference. There was no statistically significant difference when comparing the maximum pressure of the anterior and posterior regions of the tongue, the maximum pressure of the lips, or the endurance of the tongue in the different Angle malocclusion types. Maximum posterior tongue pressure was lower in vertical individuals than in mesofacial individuals. Tongue and lips pressure, as well as tongue endurance in adults was not associated with the type of malocclusion. However, there is an association between facial type and the posterior pressure of the tongue.

Cultural modulation effects on the self-face advantage: Do Caucasians find their own faces faster than Chinese?

The self-face advantage (SFA) is reflected through a faster recognition of a self-face compared with familiar and unfamiliar faces. Nevertheless, as Westerners and East Asians tend to present differences in self-concept styles, it is possible that the SFA is modulated by culture. The present study explored this possibility using a visual search task. British Caucasians and Malaysian Chinese participants were asked to search for frontal view images of self, friend, and unfamiliar faces among an array of unfamiliar faces. Regardless of race, participants were more accurate and faster in searching for the own face and friend's face compared with an unfamiliar face, with no differences in the search between the own and friend's face, and these findings could not be accounted by the cultural differences in self-concept (i.e., operationalised by scores from the Independent and Interdependent Self-Concept Scale and the Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Collectivism Scale). Altogether our results suggest that culture does not modulate the SFA and that this effect is better explained by a familiar face advantage.

Development of a Measure for Assessing Perceived Community Culture Based on Triandis’s Horizontal/Vertical Individualism-Collectivism Cultural Orientation

A new measure based on Triandis’s horizontal/vertical individualism-collectivism cultural orientation was developed to assess perceived community culture though the lens of horizontal individualism, vertical individualism, horizontal collectivism, and vertical collectivism. In the first step, a qualitative analysis using cognitive interviews showed that item wordings were appropriate to the Russian context, meaningfully accurate, and tangible to participants. In the second step, there was empirical testing of measure with 300 participants of the sociopsychological survey (questionnaire). The results showed that the expected factor structure had acceptable global and local fit of measurement model with the collected data. The measures had measurement equivalence by gender and acceptable indicators of reliability and validity. Comparison of obtained results with those published earlier showed that presented measure of the cultural orientations provided better model fit and indicators than the original measure or its other modifications, adaptations, and translations into Russian. Moreover, the developed measure showed that the assessment results were meaningfully correlated with the individual values of the participants assessed by Schwartz’s basic human values approach. Finally, the measure is particularly useful and can be successfully applied in a variety of studies aimed to study social influence. The questionnaire in English is available at Appendix in the end of the paper.

The Impact of Vertical/Horizontal Individualism and Collectivism on Ethical Consumption

This study aimed to investigate how cultural values affect ethical consumption behavior. For this purpose, cultural values were divided into the following four groups: vertical individualism, vertical collectivism, horizontal individualism, and horizontal collectivism. Ethical consumption was analyzed across two dimensions: eco-friendly and socioeconomic-oriented consumption. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted using the results of an online survey. Survey links were texted and e-mailed to 938 subjects who responded after being contacted in advance to join consumer panels registered with a marketing research company. Structural equation modeling with EQS 6 was used to test the hypotheses in this study. Vertical individualism was found to have no significant effect on socioeconomic-oriented consumption. Horizontal individualism, horizontal collectivism, and vertical collectivism, however, positively impacted eco-friendly and socioeconomic-oriented consumption. In addition, an exploratory factor analysis of ethical consumption was conducted to construct the variables. This study provides valuable guidelines for further research into ethical consumption behaviors, that is, eco-friendly ethical consumption behaviors and socioeconomic-oriented ethical consumption behaviors. Based on these components, subsequent studies could provide valuable information regarding consumers’ ethical value structures and the identification of causal relationships with prior factors or happiness outcomes. The study implications are discussed in the conclusion.

The role of environmental identity and individualism/collectivism in predicting climate change denial: Evidence from nine countries

Climate change is a global problem which requires a global response. However, climate change denial in many countries inhibits the ability to respond effectively. This cross-cultural correlational study investigates some global, cultural, and personal predictors of climate change denial. The sample included 2,751 respondents from nine countries: Armenia, China, Cuba, Estonia, India, Poland, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine (Mage = 20.7, SDage = 4.0; 868 men, 1,883 women). The Environmental Identity scale, the Individualism–Collectivism scale, and the Denial of climate change scale were used. We found that, overall, climate change denial weakly negatively correlated with the country’s individualism but environmental identity did not, and that climate change denial was negatively predicted by environmental identity, gender (lower in women), horizontal collectivism and individualism, and positively by vertical individualism. However, these links varied across countries, forming specific patterns. The results obtained may be helpful in guiding ecological education and social policy.