DIMENSIONS OF CULTURAL VARIABILITY

PSYC 338

FRAMEWORKS FOR STUDYING CROSS-CULTURAL VARIABILITY

* Hofstede’s value dimensions* Schwartz’ universal value structure* Trompenaars’ value dilemmas* Triandis’ cultural patterns* Hall’s concepts of time, space and context

Cultural Dimensions

Questions to ask

Which values are universal?

Which values are only shared by a group of people?

Do people share the same basic value orientations?

Do different environmental conditions produce different values?

Does this mean that these fundamentals of human behavior cannot be compared across cultures?

?? ?

? ??

Values are…

“a broad tendency to prefer certain states of affairs over others.”(Hofstede, 1980, p. 19)

* Values are what you wish and what is important to you.* Values are essential for the concept of our self.

Cultural values …

represent explicit and implicit shared ideas about what is good, correct and desirable within a group of people.

HOFSTEDE’S VALUE DIMENSIONS

• Individualism versus Collectivism• Power Distance• Uncertainty Avoidance• Masculinity versus Femininity

Individualism pertains to societies in whichthe ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family.Collectivism as its opposite pertains to societies in which people form birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groupswhich throughout people’s lifetime continueto protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.

Power distance- amount of respect and deference between those in superior and subordinate positions

Uncertainty Avoidance- the focus on planning and the creation of stability as a way of dealing with life’s uncertainties

Masculinity- emphasis on dominance, achievement, recognition, task-orientation

Femininity - emphasis on Harmony, co-operation, social relationships

Schwartz’ Seven Value TypesIssue 1: Relation between the individual and group* Conservatism* Intellectual Autonomy* Affective AutonomyIssue 2: Preservation of social structure* Hierarchy* EgalitarianismIssue 3: Relation between natural and social world* Mastery * Harmony

TROMPENAARS’ DIMENSIONS

• Individualism-Communitarianism• Universalism-Particularism• Ascription Oriented- Achievement

Oriented• Diffuse-Specific

TROMPENAARS’ DIMENSIONS

• Neutral- Affective• Internal-External control• Past, present, future time orientation

TRIANDIS’ CULTURAL PATTERNS

* Individualism-collectivism* Cultural looseness-tightness* Cultural Complexity

Individualist cultures:“I” consciousness, prioritizing personal goals, independence

Collectivist cultures: “We consciousness,”relational, group oriented

Cultural tightness: cultures where norms are clear, deviations are prohibited

Cultural complexity: developed, industrialized, urbanized societies

HALL’S CONCEPTS

• Polychronic versus monochronic time orientation

• Space• High versus low context of information

ADDITIONAL DIMENSIONS• Direct versus indirect style of communication• Saving face• Focus on past, presence or future• Matter-of-fact versus building up social relationships• Action versus results• Problem-solving styles

I. Attitudes towards Work1. Power Distance High Low

2. Uncertainty Avoidance Ready to take risks Sceptical

3. Attitudes Performance Quality of life

4. Key to Productivity Facts Harmony

5. Problem-solving Style Results Action

II. Social Relationships1. Social Relations Less important Very important

2. Significance of Group Low High

III. Time Orientation1. Concept of Time Monochronic Polychronic

2. Time and Other People One after another All at once

3. Orientation Past Future

IV. Communication1. Style direct indirect

2. Context Low High

3. Saving Face Less important More important

QUESTIONS• Why are dimensions of cultural

variability important?• Does New Zealand’s positioning on

Individualism,Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculinity, Power Distance surprise

you?