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Transcription
This podcast explores the relationship between industrialism and cultural values. The first article discusses how technological advancements have led to increased individualism. The second article focuses on the impact of rice versus wheat agriculture on collectivism. It suggests that countries with high pathogen prevalence tend to be more collectivistic. The third article compares cultural differences in China based on rice-wheat ratios and thought styles. It finds that individuals from rice-producing provinces exhibit more holistic thinking. The fourth article examines individualism and collectivism among college students in different countries. It reveals that Japanese students prioritize individualism more than their society. The podcast concludes by emphasizing the dynamic nature of culture and the need for further investigation. Welcome, listeners, to this intriguing episode of my cultural psychology podcast. I'm your host, Corianne Muldy, and today we will explore the fascinating interplay between increased rates of industrialism and the nuanced fluctuations in individualism and collectivism within different cultures. In this podcast, we'll explore the intricate relationship between cultural dynamics and access to industrial and technological advancement. We'll unravel how the abundance or scarcity of these resources influences the ebb and flow of individualism and collectivism within a culture, shedding light on the fascinating interplay between technological progress and cultural values. The first article we will examine is Grossman and Barnum's research on social structure, infectious diseases, disasters, secularism, and cultural change in America. In Artifact 1, we can observe data that supports the rapid increase in individualism over the past 150 years. This data observed individualistic versus collectivistic words published in books and the number of unique baby names granted over the past 150 years. This rise in individualism can be attributed to a shift towards e-books and mass self-publishing. With this technological advancement, many people can purchase books that are more tailored to their desires. This results in more individualistic and unique information than being limited to buying whatever books are supplied in a local bookstore. Artifact 2 demonstrates the correlation between shifts in socioeconomic status, the prevalence of infectious diseases and disasters, and secularism. This table emphasizes cultures with technological advancements to maintain low pathogen prevalences tend to be more individualistic. The second article we will be discussing is Tauhen's research on large-scale psychological differences found within China that can be explained by rice versus wheat agriculture. According to the pathogen prevalence theory, countries with a high prevalence of communicable diseases tend to become more insular and collectivistic. This is because people perceive a greater risk in interacting with strangers. Studies have found a correlation between historical pathogen prevalence and collectivism. As societies require intense cooperation, they tend to become more interdependent over time. Conversely, societies with less interdependence tend to become more individualistic. Pathogens exhibit a strong correlation with heat, particularly since rice cultivation occurs in hot regions. The potential confounding of pathogens with rice represents a factor not previously addressed in prior research. Past subsistence studies often contrasted herders and farmers, positing that the independence and mobility of herding cultivate individualistic cultures, while the stability and labor demands of farming foster collectivistic traits. Artifact 3 aimed to compare cultural differences among neighboring counties along the rice-wheat border in central provinces of China. The researchers took into consideration various factors, including climate, dialect, and contact with herding cultures. Surprisingly, the study found significant differences in rice-wheat ratios between the neighboring counties. The researchers also carried out an analysis of thought styles among 224 participants from the rice-wheat border. They found that individuals from the rice side tend to exhibit more holistic thinking than those from the wheat side. This border difference was observed to have an effect size similar to the national effect size for rice and wheat in all of China. To test the generalizability of these findings, the researchers analyzed subsamples on measures of east-west cultural differences. They used the sociogram task to reveal implicit measures of individualism where participants drew themselves larger than others. This finding supports previous studies that show cultural variations in self-drawing sizes. For instance, Americans tend to draw themselves larger than Europeans and the Japanese. In summary, the findings in Artifact 4 consistently indicate that individuals from rice-producing provinces tend to exhibit more holistic thinking, interdependence, and loyalty to family compared to those from wheat-producing provinces. However, a limitation of these studies is the exclusive focus on college students. To examine whether cultural differences extend beyond this demographic, the researchers gathered provincial statistics on variables linked to collectivism and analytical thought, such as divorce rates and patents for new inventions. Previous research has indicated that individualistic countries tend to have higher divorce rates, even when adjusting for gross national product per capita. Given the emphasis on conflict avoidance and relationship preservation in rice culture, individuals from rice cultures may be less inclined to divorce. The research team obtained divorce statistics from the Statistical Yearbook of the Farming Data in 1996 and also collected data from the 2000 and 2010 yearbooks to track changes over the past 15 years. The last article we will be discussing is Yi's research regarding revisiting individualism and collectivism across cultural comparisons among college students in four countries. Artifact 5 displays the levels of individualistic values in different cultural groups. The research found that Japanese participants from a large city university showed the highest levels of individualistic values, followed by American college students from a large city university without any significant differences. The third group was Korean respondents from a large city university, while the lowest individualistic values were evident in Canadian participants from a small city university, exhibiting significant differences from the large city Japanese group. These findings might seem counterintuitive as they go against general cultural dimensions. However, they align with previous studies that indicate that Japanese college students prioritize individualism more than the broader society. According to Artifact 6, the highest levels of collectivistic tendencies were observed in Canadian participants from a small city university, followed by Japanese participants from a small city university and Canadian participants from a large city university. The lowest scores were found in American college students from a large city, which was significantly different from the Canadian participants in a small city. This variation may be influenced by geographical sizes, especially considering Canadians' belief in their cultural identity's connection to the United States. It is a natural consequence of Japan and South Korea's success in the global economy to see the emergence of more individualistic values in their cultures. However, cultural change manifests differently among individuals, with some adapting without significant changes and others undergoing profound shifts. Whether individuals are aware of it or not, the dynamic process underscores the fact that culture is not static. The present study suggests that cultures evolve, progress to new stages, and potentially blend with others once considered distinct. Dormancy, continuity, and sustainability are not guaranteed characteristics of cultural phenomena, especially in this modern era of cultural dynamism. Further investigation is required to understand how cultures' individualistic and collectivistic tendencies evolve. Crucial factors to examine include the increasing interrelationships among nations, marked by social exchanges like sports events, the use of foreign commercial products in entertainment, and media influence. Thank you all for listening, I hope you all enjoyed my exhibit, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.
