Collectivist and Individualist Cultures
Introduction
Cultures are naturally grouped into two: individualist and collectivist. On most of the occasions, cultures differ regarding the importance of individual welfare and group welfare. Societies where personal welfare is cherished nurture members who are more of self-promoting and dependent naturally. In contrast, collective societies highlight the significance of group welfare over the individual desires and needs, thus creating a more inter-dependent society. Because not every individual within a given society will be affected in precisely the same way, each individual claims a cultural personal-identity, which manifests some culturally recognized values. An individual’s cultural identity then offers the lens about how an individual behaves and thinks (Kim, Kam, Sharkey, & Singelis, 2008).
Collectivist and Individualist Cultures on Deception, Morality and Communication
Studies have revealed that individuals who value their independence over social associations are less likely to deceive (Kim et al., 2008). On the other hand, persons with social character-identities, which highlight retaining group wants above individual needs, are less likely to tell the truth (Kim et al., 2008). When individuals that value independence are in a situation in which they would benefit by deceiving, they prefer doing it than in a situation where someone else would benefit from the deception (Kim et al, 2008). In contrast, individuals who consider socials connections over independence are willing to apply deception to situations where they help others than in selfish-purpose situations. When it comes to rating deceptiveness of diverse deceiving responses, extremely independent individuals rate the messages that are not truthful as extremely deceptive, while extremely inter-dependent individuals view the same deceptive reactions as not deceptive.
Cultures differ in the meaning of morality. In cultures where group needs take superiority over personal needs, they incline to see morals as social a phenomenon that forms part of the group’s expectations. Being ethical in the cultures that are collective entails guarding other people’s welfare and image. For example, if evading the truth will help to attain this end, then lying is regarded the most moral option. On the other hand, those with high concern for social connections would avoid the fact to evade potential battle with others (Kam, 2003).
Differences in interdependent and independent cultural orientations affect the way individuals communicate with each other. Greater cultural understanding comes from greater awareness, better understanding results to better capability to familiarize individuals’ techniques of communication to others. The results are effective inter-cultural contacts and fulfilling inter-cultural relationship. For leaders to adapt their communication styles to another culture without compromising their authenticity, they need to exercise cultural sensitivity so that they can understand communication responses through the cultural lens of other people. This will help them distinguish and comprehend relevant cross-cultural variances, which they can truly start to reserve the ethical aspect of an inter-cultural society (Kam, 2003).
Conclusion
According to people who value independence and prefer a more direct and explicit communication styles to highlight their uniqueness, being an ethical and moral individual requires evading every kind of message that could risk their individual honor. Deceit is a compromiser of integrity. By comparison, collective cultural prefer indirect communication styles to others image and uphold trouble-free relationship. In this case, deceiving communication functions as an important instrument for preserving important societal associations. Therefore, deceiving is greatly affected by principal social values.
References
Kam, K. Y. (2003). A cultural model of nonverbal deceptive communication: The independent and interdependent self-construals as predictors of deceptive communication motivation and nonverbal behaviors under deception. Retrieved from http://arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/handle/10150/290008
Kim, M. S., Kam, K. Y., Sharkey, W. F., & Singelis, T. M. (2008). Deception: Moral transgression or social necessity? Cultural-relativity of deception motivations and perceptions of perceptive communication. Retrieved from http://www.natcom.org/CommCurrentsArticle.aspx?id=873
