Ogihara and Uchida (2014)

Question 1

Aim:

Answer 1

Investigate the impact of working in an individualistic workplace on the well-being of Japanese women.

Question 2

Sample

Answer 2

34 Japanese woman employed at a large insurance company that had individualistic values like prioritizing performance and achievement-orientated goals.

Question 3

Research Method

Answer 3

Correlational study

Question 4

Why they chose Japanese women?

Answer 4

Japan is a collectivist culture where strong interpersonal relationships and group-orientated goals are highly valued.

Question 5

What data did they collect in the survey?

Answer 5

Surveys measured their individualistic and collectivist orientation levels, subjective well-being, and strength of personal relationships.

Question 6

Results of the surveys

Answer 6

Japanese women who adopted an achievement-orientated mindset reported lower subjective well being and fewer close friends, despite the individualistic workplace.

Question 7

Findings of the study

Answer 7

There was a incongruency between traditional Japanese culture which prioritizes collectivisms and the individualistic culture driven by globalization in workplace highlighting how globalization may disrupt local cultural norms and cause identity confusion, negatively affecting psychological and social well-being.

Question 8

2 Advantages of this study

Answer 8

Real workplace setting = Higher ecological validity

Quantifies subjective well-being and social connections through surveys = Statistical analysis is made possible

Question 9

4 disadvantages of the study

Answer 9

• Relatively small sample size (34) = Makes generalizability of results more difficult
• Why did the woman want to work for this company, maybe they were already unhappy with traditional Japanese work culture = Lower generalizability
• Self reported data = Social desirability bias (for instance they may have felt motivated to underreport negative feelings about their workplace)
• Study’s cross-sectional design limits the ability to establish causality between individualistic values and reduced well-being

Question 10

Why does the use of surveys here still make the research method for this study a correlational study?

Answer 10

Because the surveys only collected quantitative data to be used for statistical analysis.