Beyond Ethnic Differences: Contextualizing the Influence of Ethnicity on Individualism and Collectivism

Abstract

The relationship between individualism and collectivism (I/C), ethnicity, and four other social variables was examined using data from 453 American college students of Chinese, Korean, and European descent. Measures of Chinese and Korean ethnicity were better predictors of collectivism than individualism. The strength of the relationship between ethnicity and collectivism was reduced substantially, however, once the influence of other social variables was controlled. In the domain of individualism, Chinese and Korean ethnicity were negatively associated with assertiveness and uniqueness, were not related to scores on a measure of private identity, and were not related to valuing of personal openness once frequency of religious attendance was controlled. Discussion centers around the implication of the findings for the broader conceptualization of I/C.