Individual Differences in Individualism and Collectivism Predict Ratings of Virtual Cities’ Liveability and Environmental Quality

Abstract

The present research investigated individual differences in individualism and collectivism as predictors of people's reactions to cities. Psychology undergraduate students (N = 148) took virtual guided tours around historical cities. They then evaluated the cities' liveability and environmental quality and completed measures of individualism and collectivism. Mediation analyses showed that people who scored high in self-responsibility (individualism) rated the cities as more liveable because they perceived them to be richer and better resourced. In contrast, people who scored high in collectivism rated the cities as having a better environmental quality because they perceived them to (1) provide a greater potential for community and social life and (2) allow people to express themselves. These results indicate that people's evaluations of virtual cities are based on the degree to which certain aspects of the cities are perceived to be consistent with individualist and collectivist values.

Do Utopian City Designs From the Social Reform Literature of the Seventeenth and Nineteenth Centuries Resonate With a Modern Audience?

“…As we have reported in greater detail in an article in Journal of General Psychology (Rubin;Morrison 2014), the overall analysis of the survey showed that people who reported a strong sense of self-responsibility (individualism) rated the cities as more liveable because they perceived them to be richer and better resourced. In contrast, people who reported a strong commitment to their social groups (collectivism) rated the cities as having a better environmental quality because they perceived them to provide a greater potential for community and social life.…”

“…In contrast, people who reported a strong commitment to their social groups (collectivism) rated the cities as having a better environmental quality because they perceived them to provide a greater potential for community and social life. As Rubin and Morrison (2014) explained, individualism and collectivism are cultural orientations towards treating people as individuals or group members respectively (for a review, see Oyserman et al 2002). Individualists tend to be more independent, autonomous, and self-reliant, whereas collectivists tend to be more interdependent and oriented toward their social groups.…”

“…(1 = none at all, 7 = a great deal), participants' mean score was 5.39, which was significantly above the neutral midpoint, t(147) = 10.72, p < .001. Hence, although the computer representations of the cities contained no people and no signs of life, participants were nonetheless able to imagine the cities as being relatively conducive to social life and community interaction (for more detail on the construction of the survey please see Rubin, Morrison 2014).…”

Individual differences in collectivism predict city identification and city evaluation in Australian, French, and Turkish cities

“…However, one study has considered the relation between collectivism and city evaluation. Rubin and Morrison (2014) asked 148 Australian undergraduate students to take a virtual walk through one of four 17 th and 19 th century utopian cities (e.g., Campanella's, 1968Campanella's, /1602, City of the Sun). Specifically, participants watched a 2.5minute narrated slideshow of a walk through an uninhabited city from a first-person perspective.…”

“…In other words, city identification may mediate (statistically explain) the relation between collectivism and city evaluation. Rubin and Morrison (2014) have shown that collectivism predicts city evaluation. However, as Rubin and Morrison conceded, a key limitation of their research is "that it lacked ecological validity because it involved nonresidents evaluating novel, historical, virtual, and unpopulated cities" (p. 366).…”