Text B

Individualism/collectivism: behaviour towards the group

‘Individualism pertains to societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family. Collectivism as its opposite pertains to societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong cohesive groups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.’ In some societies, people need to belong to a group and have a loyalty to the group. Children learn to say ‘we’. This is true of countries such as Japan, India and China. In other societies, such as the United Kingdom, individualism is more important, and there is a lower emphasis on loyalty and protection. Children learn to say ‘I’. In strong collectivist countries, there tends to be greater expectations of the employer’s obligations towards the employee and his or her family.