Article2013

Rethinking the Concept and Measurement of Societal Culture in Light of Empirical Findings

243 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

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Cultural Differences and Values Social and Intergroup Psychology Culture, Economy, and Development Studies

Abstract

Fischer and Schwartz demonstrated that values vary much more within countries than between countries. This challenges the prevailing conception of culture as shared meaning systems, with high consensus, in which values play a central role. This article offers a concept of culture that does not assume shared individual values. It views societal culture as the hypothetical, latent, normative value system that underlies and justifies the functioning of societal institutions. As such, culture is external to individuals. But if culture is not in the minds of individuals, can it be measured by aggregating individuals’ values? This article explicates the links between the latent culture and individual values, mediated through societal institutions that partially shape the beliefs, values, behaviors, and styles of thinking of societal members. It discusses the reasons for low value consensus among individuals and the justification for inferring cultural value emphases from aggregated individual values.

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References

2002Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations across Nations 1981Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values 1983Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values.1997Modernization and Postmodernization 2005Culture, leadership, and organizations: the GLOBE study of 62 societies 1997Modernization and Postmodernization: Cultural, Economic, and Political Change in 43 Societies 2000Modernization, Cultural Change, and the Persistence of Traditional Values 1968International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.

Cited by

2016The Motivational Foundations of Prosocial Behavior From A Developmental Perspective–Evolutionary Roots and Key Psychological Mechanisms: Introduction to the Special Section 2015The Stability and Change of Value Structure and Priorities in Childhood: A Longitudinal Study 2018Cross-Cultural Differences and Similarities in Human Value Instantiation 2018National context and teacher characteristics: Exploring the critical non-cognitive attributes of novice teachers in four countries 2021International differences in employee silence motives: Scale validation, prevalence, and relationships with culture characteristics across 33 countries

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