Individualism: a valid and important dimension of cultural differences between nations

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Cross-Cultural Psychology
• Cultural Studies

Background:

• Previous meta-analyses questioned the measurement of individualism and collectivism.
• Hofstede's individualism scores lacked convergent validity with newer measures.
• National differences in response styles may explain these measurement discrepancies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of response styles on the measurement of individualism.
• To assess the convergent validity of individualism measures when controlling for response styles.
• To examine the relationship between corrected and uncorrected individualism scores and national development.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from an international student survey.
• Statistically controlled for national response styles in survey data.
• Compared corrected and uncorrected individualism scores with Hofstede's dimension and national development indicators.

Main Results:

• Statistically controlling for response styles demonstrated convergent validity between Hofstede's individualism and horizontal individualism.
• Uncorrected individualism scores correlated highly with previous meta-analytic findings.
• Corrected individualism scores, but not uncorrected ones, significantly correlated with national development.

Conclusions:

• Individualism is a valid construct for cross-cultural comparisons.
• Current measurement of individualism requires refinement to account for response styles.
• Controlling for response styles enhances the validity of individualism measures in international research.