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Individualism Behind Collectivism: A Reflection from Saudi Volunteers

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Abstract

Volunteering is growing rapidly worldwide and has been recognized as a significant social force, contributing to social development. Motives for volunteering vary widely, ranging from collectivistic factors to individualistic ones. Collectivism is often identified as a main factor that contributes to volunteering, especially in collectivist societies. Our analysis shows that in Saudi Arabia—typically classified as a collectivist society—individualistic considerations such as learning skills, meeting friends, and releasing guilt mediate the effect that collectivistic motivations (e.g., prosocial personality and community identity) have on the decision of continuous volunteering. This finding is applicable to both males and females, to people in different forms of employment, across ages, and regardless of family members’ volunteering behavior, according to moderation analyses.

Résumé

Le bénévolat connait une croissance fulgurante partout dans le monde et a été considéré comme une importante force sociale et un facteur contribuant au développement social. Les raisons incitant au bénévolat varient largement, allant de facteurs associés au collectivisme à d’autres, plus individualistes. Le collectivisme est souvent identifié comme principal facteur de contribution au bénévolat, surtout dans les sociétés collectivistes. Notre analyse démontre qu’en Arabie Saoudite, société typiquement classée comme collectiviste, des considérations d’ordre individualiste, dont les aptitudes à l’apprentissage, la création de liens amicaux et la suppression de la culpabilité atténuent l’effet qu’ont les motivations collectivistes (p. ex., personnalité prosociale et identité communautaire) sur la décision de demeurer bénévole. Selon les analyses de modération, ces résultats s’appliquent à la fois aux hommes et aux femmes et aux personnes occupant divers emplois et d’âges variés, et ce, sans égard au comportement des membres de leur famille par rapport au bénévolat.

Zusammenfassung

Ehrenamtliche Tätigkeiten nehmen weltweit rapide zu und werden als eine bedeutende Sozialkraft anerkannt, die zur sozialen Entwicklung beiträgt. Die Motivationen für eine ehrenamtliche Tätigkeit sind sehr unterschiedlich und reichen von kollektivistischen bis hin zu individuellen Faktoren. Der Kollektivismus wird häufig als ein Hauptfaktor für die ehrenamtliche Arbeit identifiziert, insbesondere in kollektivistischen Gesellschaften. Unsere Analyse zeigt, dass in Saudi-Arabien - das in der Regel als eine kollektivistische Gesellschaft eingestuft wird - individuelle Erwägungen, wie das Erlernen von Fähigkeiten, das Zusammenkommen mit Freunden und die Minderung von Schuldgefühlen, den Effekt, den kollektivistische Motivationen (z.B. prosoziale Charakterzüge und Identität mit der Gemeinschaft) auf die Entscheidung zur fortdauernden ehrenahmtlichen Tätigkeit haben, vermitteln. Gemäß den Moderationsanalysen trifft dieses Ergebnis sowohl auf männliche als auch auf weibliche Personen zu und umfasst Personen in unterschiedlichen Beschäftigungsverhältnissen und allen Altersgruppen und gilt unberücksichtigt etwaiger ehrenamtlicher Tätigkeiten von Familienangehörigen.

Resumen

El voluntariado está creciendo rápidamente en todo el mundo y ha sido reconocido como una fuerza social significativa, que contribuye al desarrollo social. Los motivos para realizar voluntariado varían ampliamente, y van desde factores colectivistas a factores individualistas. El colectivismo se identifica a menudo como un factor principal que contribuye al voluntariado, especialmente en las sociedades colectivistas. Nuestro análisis muestra que en Arabia Saudí - clasificada normalmente como una sociedad colectivista - las consideraciones individualistas, tales como aprender habilidades, reunirse con amigos, y liberar la culpa median en el efecto que las motivaciones colectivistas (por ejemplo, personalidad prosocial e identidad comunitaria) tienen en la decisión de realizar un voluntariado continuo. Este hallazgo se aplica tanto a hombres como a mujeres, a personas en diferentes situaciones de empleo, de todas las edades, e independientemente del comportamiento con respecto al voluntariado de los miembros familiares, de conformidad con los análisis de moderación.

Chinese

志愿行为正在全球如火如荼地开展。学术界认为志愿行为是一个重要的社会力量,为社会发展做着巨大的贡献。志愿者的行为动机不尽相同,既有集体主义的因素,也有个人主义的考量。在集体主义文化的社会里,集体主义常常被认为是导致志愿行为的主要因素。我们对一个通常被标签为集体主义的国家----沙特----进行了志愿动机研究,发现个人主义考虑(如通过志愿行为获得职业技巧、朋友圈、释放内疚感等)对集体主义因素(如亲社会人格、社区身份认同)在持续性志愿行为的影响上起着中介作用。而且,这个中介作用适用于不同性别、不同职业、不同年纪的群体,对家里有无其他志愿者的不同群体也同样适用。

Arabic

ينمو العمل التطوعي بسرعة في جميع أنحاء العالم و تم الإعتراف به بوصفه قوة إجتماعية هامة، تسهم في التنمية الإجتماعية. تتباين دوافع العمل التطوعي تباين و أسع، بدءا” من العوامل الجماعية إلى العوامل الفردية. غالبا” ما يتم تحديد الجماعية كعامل رئيسي يساهم في التطوع، خاصة في المجتمعات الجماعية. يبين تحليلنا أنه في المملكة العربية السعودية - التي تصنف عادة كمجتمع جماعي - الإعتبارات الفردية، مثل مهارات التعليم، لقاء الأصدقاء، و التخلص من الشعور بالندم يتوسط تأثير الدوافع الجماعية (مثل الشخصية الإجتماعية والهوية المجتمعية) على قرار التطوع المستمر. هذه النتيجة يمكن تطبيقها على كل من الذكور والإناث، على أشخاص في أشكال مختلفة من العمل، عبر الأعمار، و بصرف النظر عن سلوك التطوع لأفراد الأسرة، وفقا” لتحليلات الإعتدال.

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  • 11 April 2018

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Acknowledgements

The project was funded by the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Project Number: JF10010.

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  1. Department of Sociology, Nanchang University, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, People’s Republic of China

    Guoping Jiang

  2. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

    Guoping Jiang & Shafi Aldamer

  3. Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, USA

    Christopher Paul Garris

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Jiang, G., Garris, C.P. & Aldamer, S. Individualism Behind Collectivism: A Reflection from Saudi Volunteers. Voluntas 29, 144–159 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-017-9872-y

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