PSYA3 Relationships - Cultural Differences

The Effects of Culture on Adult Relationships

Individualism and Collectivism AO1

Individualistic Cultures
- place greater emphasis on ‘I’ rather than ‘we’ in interpersonal relationships

- Where there is conflict between the goals of the individual and goal of collective (group pr society), personal needs are considered more important

Collectivistic Cultures
- more value on ‘we’ rather than ‘I’

- the desires of particular individuals are considered less important than the collective units.

- marriage is often seen more as a union between families than a union between individuals

Individualism and Collectivism AO2/3

Individualism versus Collectivism
- much research into cultural differences has used Hofstede’s original distinction between cultures as underpinning assumption
- Questionable how useful distinction is
- Li et al (2006) found few differences in the attitudes of people from Canada (individualistic) and China (collectivistic) but did show differences between Chinese and Indian samples (both collectivistic)

The changing face of ‘arranged’ marriages
- Some research investigated what happens when families from collectivistic cultures migrate to individualistic ones
- Many Asian communities in the UK are moving gradually from traditional patterns of mate selection towards more westernised approach of letting individuals choose their own partner
- Goodwin et al (1997) suggests many Asian immigrants have undergone substantial changes in their attitude to marriage and romantic relationships compared with families…