🧠 Cultural Dimensions
📌 Key terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Cultural dimensions | Framework developed by Geert Hofstede describing values and behaviors that differentiate cultures. |
| Individualism–Collectivism | Degree to which individuals prioritize personal goals vs. group harmony. |
| Power Distance | Extent to which less powerful members of a culture accept unequal power distribution. |
| Uncertainty Avoidance | Degree to which people feel uncomfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty. |
| Masculinity–Femininity | Distribution of emotional roles between genders; competitiveness vs. care. |
| Long-Term Orientation | Focus on future rewards vs. respect for tradition and short-term results. |
| Cultural value orientation | Enduring beliefs about what is desirable or undesirable in society. |
| Cultural priming | Activation of a particular cultural identity in a participant to study its effects on cognition or behavior. |
📌 Notes
Cultural dimensions provide a systematic framework for comparing cultures.
Developed by Geert Hofstede (1980) after analyzing IBM employees in over 50 countries, the theory identifies underlying value dimensions that shape behavior, cognition, and social norms.
Psychologists later applied these dimensions to understand:
How these differences affect cross-cultural interactions in education, health, and organizations.
How cultural values influence thinking, emotion, and communication,
Why decision-making, conformity, and conflict resolution differ across societies, and
📌 Key Studies
1️⃣ Hofstede (1980) – Cultural Dimensions Framework
Aim:
To identify fundamental cultural value differences across countries.
Method:
- Surveyed 117,000 IBM employees in over 50 countries.
- Used factor analysis to identify clusters of related cultural values.
Findings:
- Revealed four primary dimensions: Individualism–Collectivism, Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Masculinity–Femininity (later expanded to six).
Conclusion:
- Each culture emphasizes certain dimensions more strongly, shaping communication, thinking, and relationships.
Evaluation:
✅ Large, cross-national sample.
✅ Provided measurable cultural comparisons.
⚠️ Sample bias – all corporate employees.
⚠️ Oversimplification – cultures are dynamic, not fixed.
2️⃣ Berry (1967) – Individualism–Collectivism and Conformity
Aim:
To investigate whether conformity levels are related to individualism vs. collectivism.
Method:
- Used an Asch-style conformity task.
- Compared the Temne people of Sierra Leone (collectivist, agricultural society) with Inuit (Eskimo) from Canada (individualist, hunting society).
Findings:
- Temne participants showed higher conformity than Inuit.
- Suggests that collectivist cultures emphasize group harmony, while individualist cultures value independence.
Conclusion:
- Cultural values influence social behavior and conformity.
Evaluation:
✅ High cross-cultural relevance.
✅ Culturally grounded task.
⚠️ Potential translation issues.
⚠️ Task may have varied cultural meanings.
🔍Tok link
- Knowledge Question: “Can culture be measured objectively?”
- While Hofstede quantified cultural traits, culture is fluid and context-dependent.
- Way of Knowing: Reason vs. Emotion — Are cultural generalizations rational analyses or biased perceptions?
- TOK Insight: Cultural psychology challenges universalist claims of Western research by emphasizing context in knowledge creation.
🌐 Real-World Connection
Business: Understanding cultural dimensions enhances cross-cultural management and reduces workplace conflict.
Education: Encourages culturally responsive teaching (e.g., collectivist cultures prefer cooperative learning).
Health: Cultural values influence patient–doctor communication and compliance.
International relations: Promotes cultural sensitivity in diplomacy and negotiation.
❤️ CAS Link
- Create an intercultural communication workshop exploring cultural values and biases.
- Volunteer in multicultural environments (schools, NGOs) and reflect on adaptation to diverse norms.
- Conduct cultural surveys among peers to examine how Hofstede’s dimensions manifest in youth values.
🧠 IA Guidance
Experiment idea: Test whether individualist vs. collectivist cultural priming affects conformity or memory recall.
Example IV: Primed cultural value (individualist vs. collectivist).
Example DV: Conformity or recall performance.
Ensure ethical use of cultural references; avoid stereotyping.
🧠 Examiner Tips
- For ERQs, integrate Berry (1967) and Bond & Smith (1996) to show depth.
- Avoid listing all six Hofstede dimensions — focus on one or two relevant to the question.
- Always link cultural dimensions to specific behaviors, not just attitudes.
- Use cross-cultural triangulation for stronger evaluation.