Cultural dimensions

Question 1

Definition of cultural dimensions

Answer 1

The values within a culture that influence behaviour and cognition

Question 2

Who researched cultural dimensions?

Answer 2

Hofsted (1980) who used to work at IBM

Question 3

What did Hofsted do?

Answer 3

Carried out a content analysis of questionnaires asking people form several different countries how they perceived their work environment?

Question 4

What did Hofsted find?

Answer 4

When analysing the data, he found cultural differences which he called: cultural dimensions.

Question 5

What are the 6 cultural dimensions?

Answer 5

Individualism vs collectivism

power distance index

masculinity vs femininity

uncertainty avoidance index

long term vs short term

orientation and indulgence vs restraint

Question 6

What is collectivism vs. individualism?

Answer 6

Whether individuals see themselves as independent or dependent of a social group.

Question 7

What do individualist cultures value?

Answer 7

Achievement, uniqueness and independence

Question 8

What do collectivistic cultures value?

Answer 8

Social harmony, tradition and interdependence

Question 9

What is the study for cultural dimensions?

Answer 9

Berry

Question 10

When was Berry?

Answer 10

1967

Question 11

What is the aim of Berry (1967)?

Answer 11

To investigate whether cultural differences in individualism versus collectivism affect conformity

Question 12

What were the 2 groups of participants?

Answer 12

Temne people of Sierra Leone

Inuit people of Norther Canada

Question 13

Temne people

Answer 13

The Temne are a food accumulating society whose way of life promotes collectivism. They are rice farmers who harvest one crop a year. In order to survive until the next harvest they rely on sharing food among group members

Question 14

Inuit people

Answer 14

The Inuits live as a hunting and fishing society. This way of life promotes individualism. People are responsible for their survival on a daily basis, and there is little accumulation of food in the society.

Question 15

What did the study use as procedure?

Answer 15

Asch Paradigm

Question 16

Procedure

Answer 16

Participants are shown a series of lines of varying length, with one target line on top of a page and several other line below. Participants are then asked to identify which of the other lines is of equal length to the target line. They are also tricked into believing that most of the other participants pick a particular line as the correct answer however, the line is actually not equal to the target line. The measure of conformity in this procedure is whether or not the participant will accept the suggestion of the ‘majority’ and pick an incorrect response because most other group members have chosen it.

Question 17

Results

Answer 17

The Temne had a significant tendency to accept the suggestion of the group and select the incorrect response.

Participants from the Inuit group are mostly unaffected by this suggestion of the ‘majority’.

Question 18

Conclusion

Answer 18

The researchers concluded that the individualist Inuit participants conform less often than the collectivist Temne because conformity to group norms is ingrained as a cultural value in the Temne society, which depend on tight social relations.

Question 19

Individualism vs. Collectivism

Answer 19

A preference for a loose‐knit framework for a society, with ties to and responsibility for one’s immediate family only, as against a tight‐knit framework where you look after your relative and friends in return for their care of you as you need it.

This has been described by Hofstede as the self‐image of ‘I’ vs. the self‐image of ‘we’.

Question 20

Example of Individualism vs Collectivism

Answer 20

South Korea has a score of 18

USA has a score of 91

Hofsted made scores for each country