Perception of individualism and collectivism in Dutch society: A developmental approach

Abstract

Within Triandis's (1994) theoretical framework, two studies are reported that deal with the developmental course for subjective perceptions of cultural dimensions in Dutch society (i.e., vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism). While perceptions of society are always subjectively determined, the perceived dimensions that are prevalent in society do not necessarily have to parallel subjective evaluations of the self in terms of the same dimension. In the first study, 245 secondary school pupils and 268 psychology students participated; they were divided into six age groups with mean ages 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 years and above. Outcomes on the Individualism-Collectivism scale (INDCOL;Singelis et al., 1995) demonstrated age-and gender-related changes in perception of society. By calculating the separate dimensions of individualism, collectivism, verticality, and horizontality, a disappearance of collectivism and verticality and an increase in horizontality across age were observed. In the second study, 226 adolescents divided into five age groups participated (mean ages 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 years). They were presented with a generalised and personal version of the INDCOL. Again, age-and gender-related differences were observed. Of interest was the presence of a developmental lag between general and personal perceptions of collectivism, with personal perceptions following general perceptions. The increase in personal adherence to horizontality (i.e., equality among people) across age followed and exceeded the general perceptions of horizontality in society.

Ethnic differences in family trajectories of young adult women in the Netherlands: Timing and sequencing of events

“…On the practical side, studying both men and women would be too broad for the scope of this paper. On the theoretical side, contemporary Dutch society is often depicted in the literature as being in favor of autonomy, emancipation, and gender equality (Oppenheimer 2004). In contrast, in more patriarchal societies such as Turkey and Morocco, cultural norms regarding the timing and sequencing of important family transitions are found to be stricter for women than for men (Bowen and Early 1993;Koc 2007).…”

An exploration of stereotypical beliefs about leadership styles: Is transformational leadership a route to women's promotion?

“…Specifically, U.S. culture is characterized as vertical-individualist, with emphasis on individual achievement (Triandis, 1995;Schwartz & Bardi, 2001) and Dutch culture as horizontal-individualist (Oppenheimer, 2004), with more emphasis on equality than achievement. These themes cohere with the GLOBE study's finding of a much stronger preference for performance orientation in the United States than the Netherlands (House et al, 2004).…”

Key Dimensions and Validity of the Chinese Version of the Individualism-Collectivism Scale

“…In contrast, Triandis (1996) defines horizontal collectivism as the inclusion of benevolent ideologies to collectivistic tendencies and vertical collectivism represents the addition of power to collectivism (Triandis, 1996). More specifically, Oppenheimer (2004) suggests that horizontal collectivists identify the self as a function of their in-groups and stress equality amongst members. In contrast, vertical collectivists emphasize the authoritarian structure of their in-group, often to the point of self-sacrifice and competition with out-groups (Oppenheimer, 2004;Triandis, 2001).…”

“…Previous research examining the reliability and validity of the ICS supports the use of this scale cross-culturally and across ages (e.g. Oppenheimer, 2004;Gouveia, Clemente, & Espinosa, 2003;Choiu, 2001). Across studies, the ICS has been found to possess moderate to strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.63 to 0.89) (Anthony, Rosselli, & Caparyan, 2003;Choiu, 2001;Gouveia, Clemente, & Espinosa, 2003;Oppenheimer, 2004;Singelis et al, 1995;Triandis & Gelfand, 1998).…”

“…More specifically, Oppenheimer (2004) suggests that horizontal collectivists identify the self as a function of their in-groups and stress equality amongst members. In contrast, vertical collectivists emphasize the authoritarian structure of their in-group, often to the point of self-sacrifice and competition with out-groups (Oppenheimer, 2004;Triandis, 2001). Therefore, the multidimensional model is considered superior to the uni-dimensional and bi-dimensional models, as it is able to completely encompass constructs as complex as culture, individualism and collectivism.…”