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Outside the "cultural binary": understanding why Latin American collectivist societies foster independent selves

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Version 2 2023-06-12, 09:54
Version 1 2023-06-10, 00:15
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-12, 09:54 authored by Kuba Krys, Vivian VignolesVivian Vignoles, Igor De Almeida, Yukiko Uchida
Cultural psychologists often treat binary contrasts of West versus East, individualism versus collectivism, and independent versus interdependent self-construal as interchangeable, thus assuming that collectivist societies promote interdependent rather than independent models of selfhood. At odds with this assumption, existing data indicate that Latin American societies emphasize collectivist values at least as strongly as Confucian East Asian societies, but they emphasize most forms of independent self-construal at least as strongly as Western societies. We argue that these seemingly “anomalous” findings can be explained by societal differences in modes of subsistence (herding vs. rice farming), colonial histories (frontier settlement), cultural heterogeneity, religious heritage, and societal organization (relational mobility, loose norms, honor logic) and that they cohere with other indices of contemporary psychological culture. We conclude that the common view linking collectivist values with interdependent self-construal needs revision. Global cultures are diverse, and researchers should pay more attention to societies beyond “the West” and East Asia. Our contribution concurrently illustrates the value of learning from unexpected results and the crucial importance of exploratory research in psychological science.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Perspectives on Psychological Science

ISSN

1745-6916

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Page range

1-22

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2021-06-29

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2021-06-29

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2021-06-28

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