10/24/11--Collectivist vs. Individualist Cultures

Questions for blog:
1. In a collectivist culture, what personality traits are likely to be considered ideal?  What about in an individualist culture?
2.  In some societies, your opinion is less likely to be challenged if you're the oldest in your family or if you have a PhD with the most published books in your university.  From the other side of the conflict, you may not feel free to assert yourself with such a person if your status is near the bottom of the group.  In what type of culture might this be true? Explain.
3.  Create a specific problem a teacher may encounter when he/she moves from teaching in a collectivist culture to an individualist culture or vice versa.  Explain what specific values caused the clash.  Propose a way for the conflict to be resolved.
4.  What is an acquaintance?  Does the word have a positive or negative connotation?

Answers:
1.  People from collectivist cultures are likely to appreciate people with team working skills and selflessness.  People from individualist cultures are likely to appreciate people who are independent and assertive (people that can take care of themselves).
2.  This would be true in an individualist society because the person at the top and the person at the bottom don't affiliate with each other; they don't work with each other.  Because they work for themselves, this would be individualistic.
3.  When a teacher from a collectivistic culture tries to teach students from an individualistic culture, she wants to have everyone participate in several group activities.  However, when the students are put into groups, generally one person from person from each group tries to take over the assignment.  The values of the teacher are that everyone should work together, while the students just care about their grades, individually.  This could be solved if the teacher would go around the class to make sure everyone is working.
4.  An acquaintance is someone you know, but not necessarily someone you would hang out with or do things with.  The word has a neutral connotation, generally, because it doesn't mean you like or dislike the person, necessarily, like the words "friend" and "enemy."