Sociocultural studies - HL Flashcards
Norasakkunkit and Uchida
Aim:
To explore how risk for hikikomori relates to attitudes about social harmony, conformity, and local/global identity in Japanese students.
Method:
Sampled Japanese university students, categorized by hikikomori risk.
Measured attitudes towards social harmony and conformity (self-perception vs. ideal vs. societal norms).
Assessed sense of local (collectivist) and global (individualistic) identity.
Results:
Both risk groups valued societal social harmony and conformity similarly.
High-risk students desired significantly lower personal social harmony and conformity compared to low-risk students.
High-risk students showed weaker local and global identity compared to low-risk students.
Conclusion:
A disconnect between desired personal values and perceived societal norms regarding social harmony and conformity may be relevant to hikikomori risk.
Weaker identification with both local collectivist and global individualistic cultures might contribute to social withdrawal in at-risk youth.
Ogihara and Uchida
Aim: Investigate the effect of working in an individualistic workplace on the subjective well-being of Japanese women.
Method: 34 adult Japanese women working in a large insurance company in Japan completed surveys on individualistic and collectivistic orientation, subjective well-being, and relationships.
Results: Achievement-oriented participants had lower subjective well-being and fewer close friends, despite working in an individualistic, achievement-focused environment. This may reflect a cultural shift in Japan due to globalization.
Conclusion: The study suggests a potential conflict between traditional collectivistic values and the growing influence of individualism, but causality between individualism and lower well-being/friendship is unclear. There may also be identity confusion from exposure to both collectivism and individualism.
