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[Commentary] The “common view” and the “cultural binary”— and how to move forward

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posted on 2023-06-09, 15:21 authored by Vivian VignolesVivian Vignoles
Takano and Osaka’s (1997, 1999) careful review of empirical research on individualism and collectivism in the US and Japan revealed a striking lack of support for the “common view” that Japanese individuals are typical collectivists whereas Americans are typical individualists. Two decades on, Takano and Osaka (2018) conclude that empirical studies have continued to fail to support the common view—and yet this view is stubbornly persistent in the literature. More is at stake here than the characterization of two national cultures. The common view epitomizes a widely adopted binary view of culture, which reduces the richness and complexity of global cultural diversity to an oversimplified contrast between individualist/independent/Western/North American and collectivist/interdependent/Eastern/East Asian categories. Unless cultural psychologists can move beyond binary thinking and research practices, correcting an inaccurate portrayal of American and Japanese cultures will be of limited benefit. Future progress might be fostered by (a) defining concepts more precisely, (b) more use of exploratory approaches, (c) wider sampling of cultural groups and contexts, (d) using available methodological guidance for cross-cultural research, and (e) expanding research into cultural identities and stereotypes.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Asian Journal of Social Psychology

ISSN

1367-2223

Publisher

Wiley

Issue

4

Volume

21

Page range

336-345

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2018-10-08

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2019-10-28

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2018-10-05

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