Time to rethink the common view

Abstract

Y. Takano and E. Osaka (2018, this issue) provide strong and irrefutable empirical evidence that the “common view”—that Japanese are typically collectivists whereas Americans are typically individualists—is not supported by data. Given other reviews in the past that have led to the same conclusion, in this commentary, I argue that now is the time for the field to take stock and reconsider this common view. This commentary briefly describes conceptual, empirical, and practical problems concerning the common view and offers suggestions to move beyond it. By moving beyond the common view, and other similar explanations of cross‐cultural differences, cross‐cultural researchers in particular can lead the way in facilitating a further evolution of research and theory about the link between cultures and individuals.

“Attention, please” to situation: Replies to commentaries by Uleman, Matsumoto, Hamamura and Takemura, and Vignoles

“…No substantial disagreement has been found between our review (Takano & Osaka, this issue) and Matsumoto's (this issue) stimulative commentary. In this section, we will describe our thoughts inspired by Matsumoto's statement: “American culture on a group or societal level may indeed be individualistic; likewise, Japanese culture on a group or societal level may indeed be collectivistic.…”

“…In our reply to Matsumoto (this issue), we have already discussed this issue with respect to its empirical basis and methodological pitfalls. In this section, a brief discussion will be presented to call attention to a conceptual problem.…”

“…Regarding arguments that the common view is supported at the country level, Matsumoto (this issue) noted that “These claims, however, require renewed research on the group or societal level” (p. 328). How should the renewed research be conducted?…”

Urgent issues and prospects at the intersection of culture, memory, and witness interviews: Exploring the challenges for research and practice

“…Data support the notion that cultural values also vary across ecological context within nations (Matsumoto, 2018; Matsumoto et al, 1997; Rhee et al, 1996) and, as such, are not static. For instance, priming studies reveal that different behaviours emerge when different self‐construals are primed by contextual and other factors (Miyamoto et al, 2006; Oyserman, 2011).…”

“…More recently, in more specific review tackling the ‘common view’ that Japanese are typically collectivists and North Americans are typically individualists, Takano and Osaka (2018) concluded that this dichotomy is not supported by empirical data—at least at the level of the individual. In the light of these observations, Matsumoto (2018) argues for the field to go beyond ‘simple, dichotomous, bipolar descriptions of selves across cultures’ (p. 19), which are inadequate to describe such a multifaceted, multidimensional, and likely dynamic construct (see Vignoles et al, 2016).…”