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Individualism-Collectivism

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Synonyms

Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft; Idiocentrism and allocentrism; Independence and interdependence

Introduction

There are different ways of viewing the self. People who are more individualistic view the self as distinct and separate from others. Individualism emphasizes personal goal pursuit and autonomy. People who are more collectivistic view the self as overlapping with and interconnected to others. Collectivism emphasizes maintaining relationships and social harmony (Hofstede 1980; Hofstede et al. 2010; Markus and Kitayama 1991; Singelis 1994; Triandis 1995; Varnum et al. 2010). Individualism and collectivism have also been referred to as independence and interdependence (Markus and Kitayama 1991), idiocentrism and allocentrism (Triandis et al. 1985), and Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft (Greenfield 2013).

How Individualism-Collectivism Is Measured

Individualism-collectivism (IC) is measured in many ways ranging from self-report to neural measures. The most frequently used...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Ryan S. Hampton & Michael E. W. Varnum

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  1. Ryan S. Hampton
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  2. Michael E. W. Varnum
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Correspondence to Ryan S. Hampton .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, USA

    Christopher J. Holden

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Hampton, R.S., Varnum, M.E.W. (2017). Individualism-Collectivism. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2023-1

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