SUNDAY INSIGHT: This Perspective on American Extremism will Take Some Time-To-Process

Two ways to process lumping together all this data in clusters of nationality was found to be where there are clearer patterns than in other categories:

Gert Jan Hofstede analyzed these data at what he called “the ecological level.” He explained this approach in a paper called “Flowers, Bouquets, and Gardens” — the idea being that an individual flower is a subset of a mixed bouquet, which in turn is a subset of an entire garden, which has even more variation.

 

Once he saw that differences were driven by nationality, Hofstede sensed he was on to something big. Everyone knows there are differences between people in different countries, but his approach was a quantifiable approach.

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Dimensions of national culture - Hofstede Insights

https://hi.hofstede-insights.com › national-culture

The six dimensions of national culture are based on extensive research done by Professor Geert Hofstede, Gert Jan Hofstede, Michael Minkov and their ...

 

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Listen and read

The Pros and Cons of America’s (Extreme) Individualism (Ep. 470)

by Stephen J. DubnerProduced by Brent Katz

Freakonomics

> "According to a decades-long research project, the U.S. is not only the most individualistic country on earth; we’re also high on indulgence, short-term thinking, and masculinity (but low on “uncertainty avoidance,” if that makes you feel better).

We look at how these traits affect our daily lives and why we couldn’t change them even if we wanted to.

Listen and subscribe to our podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or elsewhere. Below is a transcript of the episode, edited for readability. For more information on the people and ideas in the episode, see the links at the bottom of this post.

In our previous episode, we made what may sound like a bold claim. We said that a lot of good ideas and policies that work elsewhere in the world can’t work in the U.S. because our culture is just different. Not necessarily better or worse — but very different. That was our hypothesis, at least. And we did find a number of learned people who had data to back up the hypothesis.

Michele GELFAND: The people that came to New York early on, they were from all sorts of different cultural backgrounds, and that’s helped produce the looseness that exists to this day. 

Joe HENRICH: Americans and Westerners more generally are psychologically unusual from a global perspective.  

 

Listen now:

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According to a decades-long research project, the U.S. is not only the most individualistic country on earth; we’re also high on indulgence, short-term thinking, and masculinity (but low on “uncertainty avoidance,” if that makes you feel better). We look at how these traits affect our daily lives and why we couldn’t change them even if we wanted to.

The 6-D model of national culture

Geert Hofstede, assisted by others, came up with six basic issues that society needs to come to term with in order to organize itself. These are called dimensions of culture. Each of them has been expressed on a scale that runs roughly from 0 to 100.

The dimensions explained

For each dimension here is a brief description and a ten-minute video in which Geert Hofstede explains that dimension.

Hofstede's Globe

For interactive world maps and pick-your-own-countries 3-d graphs of Hofstede dimension scores, check Hofstede's Globe in the Geert Hofstede online exhibition "An engineer's Odyssey".

Dimension maps of the world: Individualism

Each dimension has been derived by comparing many, but not all, countries in the world. The findings can be summarized into six world maps of the distribution of that dimension. Of course, in reality there can be quite a bit of within-country variation; these maps should be seen as rough 'climate maps' of culture.

 

Individualism

Individualism is the extent to which people feel independent, as opposed to being interdependent as members of larger wholes.
▼  Read more 

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Dimension maps: Power Distance

Power Distance

Power Distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.
▼    Read more

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Dimension maps: Femininity / Masculinity

 

Masculinity
Masculinity is the extent to which the use of force in endorsed socially.
▼    Read more

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Dimension maps: Uncertainty Avoidance

 

Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty avoidance deals with a society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity.
▼    Read more

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The last two dimensions

The last two dimensions were found later, and in different studies, than the first four. This is why different countries appear on the world maps. These maps are taken from the 2007 book "Why we are different and similar" by Michael Minkov. In our 2010 book they are re-scaled to a 0-100 format. The scale is also reversed for Flexhumility (long-term orientation, blue on the map) versus monumentalism (short-term orientation, orange on the map).

Remember, the numbers do not really 'mean' anything. They are just there for convenience. The world-wide pattern is what matters.

Dimension maps: Long-term Orientation

 

Long-term orientation

Long-term orientation deals with change.
▼    Read more

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Dimension maps: Indulgence

Indulgence

 

Indulgence is about the good things in life.
▼    Read more

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IN SPANISH                                                                    

"Soy bastante optimista con el futuro de Europa, los jóvenes ven lo que está sucediendo"

• Entrevista a Gert Jan Hofstede, Profesor de "Socialidad Artificial"

1. Jorge Valero

Ede (Holanda)

12:12 - 26/04/2019

Gert Jan Hofstede vive preocupado por la caída del sentimiento de comunidad. Un problema que este profesor de la Universidad de Wageningen, multidisciplinar e impulsor del concepto de la "socialidad artificial", recomienda abordar dando más importancia a los espacios comunes. 

A pesar de la creciente ansiedad y populismo, el hijo del psicólogo social holandés Geert Hofstede mantiene un moderado optimismo, por el paso adelante que están dando los jóvenes para tratar los problemas de todos.

¿En qué tonos pinta el cuadro para la próxima década?

Creo que las cosas empeorarán un poco, antes de que puedan mejorar. Vemos algunas buenas intenciones, pero no las llevamos a cabo. A veces nos estancamos, porque no existe un sentimiento de urgencia para actuar. Pero cuando suceda, la gente reaccionará. Lo único que realmente podría detenernos es si los países se preocupan demasiado por sí mismos.

"Lo que los líderes deben hacer acercarse a los ciudadanos y crear una conexión. Antes los políticos hablaban al corazón y alma de la gente"

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THE DIMENSIONS EXPLAINED IN A SERIES OF 10-MINUTE VIDEOS

For each dimension here is a brief description and a ten-minute video in which Geert Hofstede explains that dimension.

Individualism

Individualism is the extent to which people feel independent, as opposed to being interdependent as members of larger wholes.
▼  Read more

Individualism does not mean egoism. It means that individual choices and decisions are expected. Collectivism does not mean closeness. It means that one "knows one's place" in life, which is determined socially. With a metaphor from physics, people in an individualistic society are more like atoms flying around in a gas while those in collectivist societies are more like atoms fixed in a crystal.

Power Distance

Power Distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.
▼    Read more

This dimension is thought to date from the advent of agriculture, and with it, of large-scale societies. Until that time, a person would know their group members and leaders personally. This is not possible where tens of thousands and more have to coordinate their lives. Without acceptance of leadership by powerful entities, none of today's societies could run.

Masculinity

Masculinity
Masculinity is the extent to which the use of force in endorsed socially.
▼    Read more

In a masculine society, men are supposed to be tough. Men are supposed to be from Mars, women from Venus. Winning is important for both genders. Quantity is important and big is beautiful. In a feminine society, the genders are emotionally closer. Competing is not so openly endorsed, and there is sympathy for the underdog.

This is NOT about individuals, but about expected emotional gender roles. Masculine societies are much more openly gendered than feminine societies. 

Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty avoidance deals with a society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity.
▼    Read more

Uncertainty avoidance has nothing to do with risk avoidance, nor with following rules. It has to do with anxiety and distrust in the face of the unknown, and conversely, with a wish to have fixed habits and rituals, and to know the truth. 

Long-term orientation

Long-term orientation deals with change.
▼    Read more

In a long-time-oriented culture, the basic notion about the world is that it is in flux, and preparing for the future is always needed. In a short-time-oriented culture, the world is essentially as it was created, so that the past provides a moral compass, and adhering to it is morally good. As you can imagine, this dimension predicts life philosophies, religiosity, and educational achievement.

Indulgence

 

Indulgence is about the good things in life.
▼    Read more

In an indulgent culture it is good to be free. Doing what your impulses want you to do, is good. Friends are important and life makes sense. In a restrained culture, the feeling is that life is hard, and duty, not freedom, is the normal state of being. 

Are there more dimensions?

Since dimensions are imagined, not 'out there', there can be many more. Any study will reveal its own pattern, so yes, other dimensions can be found.

▼    Read more

 

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