Where (Who) Are Collectives in Collectivism? Toward Conceptual Clarification of Individualism and Collectivism.

TLDR

Psychological research has long treated individualism and collectivism as a key cultural dimension, yet recent critiques highlight their vague, catch‑all nature and the scarcity of explicit references to collectives in existing measures, which instead emphasize interpersonal networks as ingroups. The study aims to resolve the conceptual confusion surrounding the ingroups targeted by collectivism by proposing a new theoretical framework that clarifies the distinction between individual, relational, and collective selves. The authors develop a theoretical framework based on Brewer and Gardner’s 1996 model of individual, relational, and collective selves, mapping these onto self‑representations, beliefs, and values. Content analysis of existing scales and analyses of prior study data both provide preliminary support for the proposed framework, confirming the observed lack of explicit collective references.

Abstract

In psychological research on cultural differences, the distinction between individualism and collectivism has received the lion's share of attention as a fundamental dimension of cultural variation. In recent years, however, these constructs have been criticized as being ill-defined and "a catchall" to represent all forms of cultural differences. The authors argue that there is a conceptual confusion about the meaning of ingroups that constitute the target of collectivism. Collectives are rarely referred to in existing measures to assess collectivism. Instead, networks of interpersonal relationships dominate the operational definition of "ingroups" in these measures. Results from a content analysis of existing scales support this observation. To clarify and expand the individualism-collectivism distinction, a theoretical framework is proposed that draws on M. B. Brewer and G. Gardner's (1996) conceptualization of individual, relational, and collective selves and their manifestation in self-representations, beliefs, and values. Analyses of data from past studies provide preliminary support for this conceptual model. The authors propose that this new theoretical framework will contribute conceptual clarity to interpretation of past research on individualism and collectivism and guide future research on these important constructs.