ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R

Advances in Psychological Science ›› 2018, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (11): 2068-2080.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2018.02068

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Increasing individualism and decreasing collectivism? Cultural and psychological change around the globe

HUANG Zihang1,2,3, JING Yiming1,2,3, YU Feng4, GU Ruolei1,2,3, ZHOU Xinyue5, ZHANG Jianxin3,6, CAI Huajian1,2,3()   

  1. 1 Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    2 Center for Personality and Social Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    4 School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China;
    5 Department of Marketing, School of Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
    6 Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
  • Received:2017-12-05 Online:2018-11-15 Published:2018-09-26
  • Contact: Huajian CAI E-mail:caihj@psych.ac.cn

Abstract:

In this article, we reviewed the large body of research examining the impacts of social change on human psychology and culture. Our review revealed an increasing trend of individualism and, at the meantime, decreasing collectivism. This trend manifests on various societal and individual-level indicators, including relationship structures, first-person pronouns use, naming practices, value preferences, personality, sexual and religious attitudes, child-rearing goals and child development, cognitive styles and emotional experiences. Our review also demonstrated the complexities of cultural and psychological change, including the non-linearity of the change, endurance of traditional culture and emerging multi-cultural society. At the end, we pointed out some limitations of the existing research and highlighted some possible directions of future research.

Key words: social change, culture, cultural change, individualism, collectivism

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