Abstract
A still unsolved question is why humans create collectivism. New theory proposes that poorer populations coping with more demanding winters or summers become more collectivist. Preliminary support comes from a province-level analysis of survey data from 1662 native residents of 15 Chinese provinces. Collectivism is weakest in provinces with temperate climates irrespective of income (e.g., Guangdong), negligibly stronger in higher-income provinces with demanding climates (e.g., Hunan), and strongest in lower-income provinces with demanding climates (e.g., Heilongjiang). Multi¬level analysis consolidates the results by demonstrating that collectivism at the provincial level fully mediates the interactive impact of climato-economic hardships on collectivist orientations at the individual level, suggesting that culture building is a collective top-down rather than bottom-up process.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 589-605 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology |
Volume | 44 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May-2013 |
Keywords
- collectivism
- climatic demands
- climato-economic
- China
- environmental livability
- LAST MILLENNIUM
- INDIVIDUALISM
- PSYCHOLOGY
- FRAMEWORK
- CULTURES
- STRESS
- THREAT
- VALUES