INDIVIDUALISM-COLLECTIVISM - AN EMPIRICAL-STUDY OF A CONCEPTUAL ISSUE

Individualism-collectivism emerges from the literature as a high-order concept, explaining cross-cultural differences over a wide range of s ituations, with collectivists more inclined than individualists to pro vide for others. The present study challenges this conceptualization. Not only the readiness to support others (input) but also the expectat ion to receive support (output) has to be taken into account. Subjects in Hong Kong, Turkey, Greece, The Netherlands, and the United States (New York State) completed a questionnaire asking how much support the y expected to receive from and give to persons in a range of social ca tegories. Results showed that (a) the ratio between input and output a s well as (b) the patterning of input and output over social categorie s were similar in all samples. Ratings of emotional closeness that wer e also obtained could account for most variance between social categor ies. The findings fit an interpretation of cross-cultural differences in terms of specific patterns of interpersonal relationships.