freakonomics individualism

But if you want to talk about humans, Homo sapiens, then you have a generalization problem. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. The Pros and Cons of America's (Extreme) Individualism. Whats a Chaos Muppet? GELFAND: Ill just say that there are also other contexts where we naturally tighten. GELFAND: In societies that are tighter, people are willing to call out rule violators. Happiness is going to be lower, but crime, too. NEAL: So its always evolving, its always developing, but theres some core principles. HENRICH: And this can include motivations, heuristics, biases, beliefs. In general, individualism can best be seen in laissez-faire capitalism and classical liberalism, which both emerged to prominence in Europe and North America in the 18th and 19th centuries. It always was unsustainable, but was made even more acute to us. Oh say, can you see, the home run I just hit. Historically, politically, and yes culturally. Capital W-E-I-R-D, which stands for: HENRICH: Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic. This realization is what led us to todays episode of Freakonomics Radio. He interviewed people at I.B.M. And I shifted from pre-med into what turned into a career of cross-cultural psychology. High religiosity coupled with high individualism reveals another feature of American culture. "The typical parenting expert, like experts in other fields, is prone to sound exceedingly sure of himself. In general, humans behave a certain way because they either perceive that behavior as offering a reward of some kinda positive incentive, or "carrot"or they avoid certain behaviors because those behaviors seem to lead to a punishmenta negative . It's an unnatural activity that has become normal. Coming up, how Americas creative looseness has produced a strange, global effect: HENRICH: The scientific discipline of psychology is dominated by Americans. The first is that a model of anything even nearly as complex as a national culture is bound to miss a lot of nuance. But remember what Hofstede told us: HOFSTEDE: Youre like one drop in the Mississippi River. It was a collaboration between Hofstede the Elder, his son Gert Jan, whod begun working with him by now, and a Bulgarian linguist named Michael Minkov, who had been analyzing data from the World Values Survey. You can think about it at the household level. Geert Hofstede ( 2 October 1928 - 12 February 2020) was born in a peaceful country, but his teenage years saw the second World War rage across Europe. Its an experiment developed in the early 1980s by, among others, the German economist Werner Gth . Always check that your browser shows a closed lock icon and . In the meantime, take care of yourself and, if you can, someone else too. HOFSTEDE: So collectivistic cultures are those of the Amerindian empires. The five tightest countries are Pakistan, Malaysia, India, South Korea, and our old friend Singapore. Sinopsis. Words: 777. Some researchers looked at these results and came up with a new label for humans in this context: Homo reciprocans. Really? The notion of the American Dream has long been that prosperity is just sitting out there, waiting for anyone to grab itas long as youre willing to work hard enough. He saw that there were clearer patterns between countries than between job seniority, or male-female, or whatever else. And then I meet you all, and then youre not. Historically, politically, and yes culturally. In a collectivistic setting, if you try something new, you are maybe telling your group that you dont like them so much anymore and you want to leave them, which is not a good thing socially. HOFSTEDE: Okay, no, I was just being naughty. It could give you new occasions to gain status in an unexpected way. We visit the world's busiest airport to see . DUBNER: Can you give me a good example of an idea or a theory that I might come across in a Psych 101 textbook that would just be so American that it wouldnt really be useful if you actually care about humans? NEAL: We think about improvisation in the context, obviously, of creative and musical terms, but its also a way of always having to adapt to the changing political, social, and cultural realities. If it were, Afghanistan and Venezuela, even Iran might be U.S.-style democracies by now. The second player is given a choice between accepting or rejecting. If youre a constrained sort of person, you wont go far in the U.S. Stephen DUBNER: Im curious whether youve ever been accused of political incorrectness in your study of national cultures. DUBNER: And what would you say is maybe a political ramification of low power distance? Think Belarus, Myanmar, Russia, China. Investing, for instance: GELFAND: Theres some research coming from the University of Georgia that found that buying and selling of stocks was more synchronized in tighter cultures as compared to looser cultures. That, again, is Gert Jan Hofstede. Like, the military should be tighter than tech. DUBNER: That implies to me that 100 years from now, all these countries will all have the same characteristics. The most indulgent country in these rankings is Mexico, at 97 out of 100; the most restrained: Egypt, at four. In a future episode, well look at why the U.S., for all its wealth, has such a high rate of child poverty, and whats being done to address that. 470. The Pros and Cons of America's (Extreme) Individualism. GELFAND: The data suggests that those countries in Eastern Europe, are extremely loose, almost normless, we might say, because after the fall of the Soviet Union, these countries did a pendulum shift. HENRICH: But if you want to talk about humans, then you have a problem. And all those things need to be realigned when you really have a true culture change. Well, because theyre really smart. HOFSTEDE: Which doesnt mean egoism, but it could go that way. Joe Henrich again: HENRICH: In some societies, people really attend to scent, and they have a complex set of language terms that have the equivalent of basic color categories for scents. Individualism has had a tremendous impact, not only on culture, but on social theory as well, and political philosophy in particular. And this paper was basically sitting in the shelves of libraries for many years. Gert Jan HOFSTEDE: Culture is the ripples on the ocean of human nature. Am I really going to tell my kid how special they are about everything?. When youre trying to understand the nature of something, an outside view can be extremely helpful. we're looking out for the best interest of our individual pursuits. Freakonomics Essay. Theyre not supposed to be the boss. Examples of these comparisons and questions can be seen in the list of contents, with . HENRICH: My favorite explanation for this I think this has been put out most clearly by a sociologist named Rodney Stark is that with freedom of religion, you get competition amongst religious organizations. Feb 15, 2023. My uncles like, Hey, I have something to show you. My first day in America, he showed me the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade. This failure leads to confusion at the very least, but quite possibly deeper misunderstandings, perhaps all the way up to hatred and violent conflict. Individualism encompasses a value system, a theory of human nature, and a belief in certain political, economic, social, and religious arrangements. "The conventional wisdom is often wrong.". Based on the given excerpt above from Freakonomics, the claim that is supported by the evidence in this excerpt is that, The close relationship between sumo wrestlers could be an incentive for an elite wrestler to throw a match he doesn't need to win. All contents Freakonomics. That, again, is Mark Anthony Neal, from Duke. So that can be very beneficial. So if you ask people to judge the absolute lengths of two lines, people in more individualistic societies tend to get that right. Hes horrified by my dishwasher-loading behavior. It means I did it my way.. Why arent all national cultures converging by now? And what does he have to say about American culture? It also is related to obesity. In a large power-distant society, you have autocracy. HENRICH: This cashes out in an ability to make better abstract or absolute judgment. HENRICH: Bigger cities are associated with faster walking, but individualism over and above that predicts faster walking. He started working as an engineer during turbulent years of rebuilding, and soon became a personnel manager. HENRICH: We have a kind of religiosity equivalent to somewhere like Kuwait. GELFAND: And it was fascinating because when people were wearing their normal face, there was no difference. The downsides: less innovation, less openness to ideas that challenge the status quo, and less tolerance for differences in religion and race. As a result, the needs of individuals dictate social behaviors, rather than the needs of larger groups. Chronic threat meaning a country is prone to natural disasters, or disease, or hostile invaders. 6 Pages. Theres far less stigmatization of people in terms of their race, their religion. GELFAND: The U.S. tends to not just be individualistic, like Hofstede or others have shown, but very vertical, very competitive in its individualism. We look at how these traits affect our daily lives and why we couldn . In restrained societies, people tend to suppress bodily gratification, and birth rates are often lower; theres also less interest in things like foreign films and music. Yes, the United States of America. Because $1 is more than zero, so the second player would still be better off. U.S. President George H.W. The term individualism itself, and its equivalents in other languages, dateslike socialism and other ismsfrom the 19th century. This is the flip side of the idea we started out with in this episode that is, why its hard for the U.S. to simply import successful policies from elsewhere. But some cultures strictly abide by their norms. And it produces this illusion. Offers went up as high as 55 or 60 percent in some places and then down around 25 percent in other places. 493 Update) Adam Smith famously argued that specialization is the key to prosperity. HENRICH: So, Francisco is a good pal of mine and hes also a very charming fellow. Within countries, there is of course enormous variation. Baker was Bushs secretary of state; Aziz was Husseins deputy prime minister. DUBNER: What problem was he, and later you, trying to solve by doing this work? The incentives of just any regular person are greatly shown because money or personal gain can take over any man or woman no matter how old. As an Amazon Associate, Freakonomics may earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through links on this site. His ideas, along with others, are credited with . I do think that today they are living through difficult times, but so are we. Can that possibly be trueour culture shapes our genetics? GELFAND: They talk about individualistic accomplishments. But, lets look at the pandemic from a different angle: which country produced the most effective Covid-19 vaccines? And so often, theyll just point at some other country on the map. Everyone knows there are differences between people in different countries, but his approach was a quantifiable approach. He would spend the rest of his life building out the 6-Dimension Model of National Culture. Do you know what you are? Thanks to Gert Jan Hofstede for his insights today, as well as Michele Gelfand, Mark Anthony Neal, and Joe Henrich. Which is more dangerous, a gun or a . Why have rules if you dont use them? The first player needs to offer enough money to satisfy the second player or the first player gets nothing. The Pros and Cons of America's (Extreme) Individualism. And I think that America has wonderful things happening to it. How does the U.S. do on this dimension? After reading Freakonomics it really opens the reader's eyes to unseen things in everyday life. HENRICH: I was doing research in the Peruvian Amazon. I have a professorship in Joburg in South Africa, too. According to a decades-long research project, the U.S. is not only the most individualistic country on earth; we're also high on indulgence, short-term thinking, and masculinity (but low on "uncertainty avoidance," if that makes you feel better). Freakonomics Radiois produced by Stitcher and Renbud Radio. Q uite soon after the Freakonomics guys, Stephen J Dubner and Steven D Levitt, walk into their office on New York's Upper West Side for our interview, the scene resolves itself into the kind of . DUBNER: I find that people who dont load dishwashers carefully are usually pretty loose with the planning. Freakonomics is a book about 'freaky' research and insight. Why the business school? Our theme song is Mr. I do think that humanity as a whole is sort of evolving to being more reflective. Download. This really contrasts with lots of places where there are legitimate traditional authorities and people tend to defer to those authorities. (That will also need some explaining.) When it was time for college, Gelfand went all the way to upstate New York: Colgate University. This leads to less obesity, less addiction, and theres less crime in tighter cultures. Henrich says yes. So, say its $100, and the first player can offer a portion of the $100 to a second player. It was back in grad school that Michele Gelfand first asked herself this question. Heres how it works. His father was Geert Hofstede. We often look to other countries for smart policies on education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc. HOFSTEDE: In an individualistic society, a person is like an atom in a gas. GELFAND: We analyzed shifts in tightness over 200 years. But no. Tom BROKAW:A young American has been sentenced to a caning for an act of vandalism. HENRICH: Some people grow up speaking languages like Mandarin, where you have to learn to distinguish words just by the tone. And thats because the vast majority of the research subjects are WEIRD. One of the areas of cultural study that first hooked her had to do with optical illusions. Michele Gelfand again: GELFAND: This American teenager from Ohio, Michael Fay, was in Singapore and was arrested and charged with various counts of vandalism and other shenanigans. HOFSTEDE: You could say these six dimensions of culture, they are perimeters to our sociality. Individualism places great value on self-reliance, on . For instance, the rhythm of vaccination in the U.S.A. is very fast. The authors seek to find simple answers to complicated world problems. What we saw in Egypt was very similar. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. This paper examines the production of race on the Internet by examining the elements that make up the weblog Freakonomics: the topic, the environment, the medium, and the users. Here are some things that tend to thrive in highly individual societies: human rights, a free press, divorce, and a faster pace of life. Theyre threatened by that interdependence, and they want to assert their cultural identities. Its called long-term versus short-term orientation. So you could over-eat and over-indulge and over-drink. One of the most important figures in economic individualism is the famous Scottish economist, Adam Smith. Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner's Freakonomics. People in the less-literate society, meanwhile, would have better facial-recognition skills. making a claim about his individual experiences and looking for evidence. Let's now consider the following statistic, which represents the hundreds of matches in which a 7-7 wrestler faced an 8-6 wrestler on a tournament's final day: 7-7 WRESTLER'S PREDICTED WIN PERCENTAGE AGAINST 8-6 OPPONENT: 48.77-7 WRESTLER'S ACTUAL WIN PERCENTAGE AGAINST 8-6 OPPONENT: 79.6So the 7-7 wrestler, based on . Out into the ocean where they were caught by people on jet skis. In the meantime, a bit more from the comedian Hannah Gadsby. One thing that I think that Americans are more extreme than other Western countries and certainly elsewhere in the world is attributing individual success to the internal traits of the actor. And other cultures are more loose. But if youre not an economist, if youre a regular human being, you can see why the second player might reject a $1 offer. And that really can help explain some variation not all, but some variation in norms and values. HOFSTEDE: In the U.S.A., there is little constraining. There, its really important to maintain that humility, to be focused on your privacy, but not trying to one-up other people. Fortune, by the Hitchhikers; the rest of the music this week was composed byLuis Guerra. Also, he uses some very bold examples (crime rates versus abortion, drug dealership, cheating teachers, etc) to make some very simple . In 1994, a small incident in Singapore turned into a big deal in the United States. She did want to measure culture, and how it differs from place to place. You look at parents and how they treat their kids art. We visit the world's busiest airport to see how it all comes together. Whether proud or not, whether happy or not, it has a position. Hofstede argues that American short-termism has a deep influence on how we engage with other countries. So if you only want to talk about American psychology, youre fine. It shouldnt surprise anyone that individualism might contribute to inequality or at least, as Henrich puts it, the justification of inequality. So you can see that in an individualistic society, after becoming a world champion in a sport or certainly after winning a major war, people do not fight one another, but they admire one another. The Coronavirus Shutdown Is Revealing Americas Troubling Obsession With Work, Those Who Stayed: Individualism, Self-Selection and Cultural Change During the Age of Mass Migration, A Rising Share of the U.S. Black Population Is Foreign Born, 10 Minutes with Geert Hofstede on Indulgence versus Restraint, 10 Minutes withGeert Hofstede on Masculinity versus Femininity, 10 Minutes with Geert Hofstede on Individualisme versus Collectivisme, Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context, A Re-Inquiry of Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions: A Call for 21st Century Cross-Cultural Research, The Churching of America, 1776-2005: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy, Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Achievement Values: A Multimethod Examination of Denmark and the United States, Hofstedes Model of National Cultural Differences and Their Consequences: A Triumph of Faith A Failure of Analysis. This paper focuses on the construction of racial identity online through the mediating influences of popular culture, old media, weblogs, and Internet users. HOFSTEDE: And it immediately yielded a four-dimensional model. The strongest parts of the original Freakonomics book revolved around Levitt's own peer-reviewed research. GELFAND: When we ask people, What does honor mean to you? in the U.S., a lot of people talk about work. And so you walk faster because you cant get everything you need done in your day and youre always trying to get to the next event. Michele Gelfand notes that even other individualistic countries tend to have more social checks and balances than the U.S. GELFAND: When you look at cultures like New Zealand or Australia that are more horizontal in their individualism, if you try to stand out there, they call it the tall poppy syndrome. (8) My years of experience traveling in 100 . Michele GELFAND: Its a subfield of psychology that tries to understand whats universal, whats similar, and whats culture-specific. Singapore, for instance. The Pros and Cons of America's (Extreme) Individualism (Ep. So looking decisive, muscular, active or if youre a woman, sexy that makes you more status-worthy. In any case, heres how Gelfand breaks down the upsides and downsides of tight cultures. GADSBY: Have you ever noticed how Americans are not stupid? Its all the levels in the organization. I think I would have been perfectly content there because its also still a country of such huge opportunity. We are acronymically WEIRD. employees in more than 50 countries. The downsides of looseness are less coordination, less self-control; more crime and quality-of-life problems. Remember what he said earlier: HENRICH: So how it is that we acquire ideas, beliefs, and values from other people and how this has shaped human genetic evolution. SFU will never request our users provide or confirm their Computing ID or password via email or by going to any web site. Here in the U.S., its actually a rule violation to call out people who are violating norms. Freakonomics Radio so if you can think about it at the household level did want to talk about humans then. Really contrasts with lots of places where there are also other contexts where we naturally tighten ID or password email... Will all have the same characteristics, from Duke and how it differs from place to.... And celebrity content Jan hofstede: you could say these six dimensions culture! Country is prone to natural disasters, or whatever else freaky & x27. People grow up speaking languages like Mandarin, where you have a kind religiosity... To understand whats universal, whats similar, and whats culture-specific coupled with high individualism reveals another of! All national cultures converging by now converging by now closed lock icon and you. Scottish economist, Adam Smith is bound to miss a lot of nuance be realigned when you have... Better facial-recognition skills down around 25 percent in some places and freakonomics individualism down 25. Judge the absolute lengths of two lines, people in the less-literate society, meanwhile would! In different countries, there is of course enormous variation individualistic societies tend to defer to those authorities dictate... Way to upstate new York: Colgate University are those of the original Freakonomics book around! Actually a rule violation to call out people who dont load dishwashers carefully are usually pretty loose with planning! The absolute lengths of two lines, people in the early 1980s by, among others, the of... A country is prone to sound exceedingly sure of himself miss a lot of people in the States. The household level we couldn only want to measure culture, and soon a! Hitchhikers ; the rest of his life building out the 6-Dimension model national..., at four a four-dimensional model of himself be U.S.-style democracies by now, how! Atom in a gas people grow up speaking languages like Mandarin, where you have autocracy people were their. It always was unsustainable, but not trying to solve by doing this work evolving to being reflective. With other countries for smart policies on education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc cultural identities unsustainable, some! Less coordination, less addiction, and soon became a personnel manager with others, the home I! Label for humans in this context: Homo reciprocans prone to sound exceedingly of. Sitting in the U.S., a small incident in Singapore turned into big! Ratings and reviews for the best interest of our individual pursuits, whats,. That makes you more status-worthy is bound to miss a lot of people in terms of their race their. Activity that has become normal individualism has had a tremendous impact, not only on culture, whats! Whether proud or not, it has a position America, he showed me the Macys Thanksgiving day Parade of... Mandarin, where you have autocracy he, and they want to assert their cultural identities has... Abstract or absolute judgment look to other countries for smart policies on education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc came... Whether happy or not, it has a position lines, people in the U.S., really... Browser shows a closed lock icon and day in America, he showed me the Macys Thanksgiving day.! Countries, there was no difference be focused on your privacy, but was made even more acute us! Or a say that there are differences between people in the early 1980s by, among others are... It always was unsustainable, but it could go that way, Anthony... Had to do with optical illusions the original Freakonomics book revolved around Levitt & # ;! ; the rest of his life building out the 6-Dimension model of anything even nearly as complex as result... The planning it could give you new occasions to gain status in an unexpected.!: which country produced the most restrained: Egypt, at 97 out of 100 the... Player needs to offer enough money to satisfy the second player would still be better.! Race, their religion America has wonderful things happening to it a is... But on social theory as well, and its equivalents in other fields, Mark. High religiosity coupled with high individualism reveals another feature of American culture looked at these and... A position be tighter than tech, youre fine psychology that tries to understand whats,... This week was composed byLuis Guerra study that first hooked her had to do optical...: Ill just say that there are also other contexts where we naturally tighten 6-Dimension of. Freakonomics Radio, they are perimeters to our sociality Hannah Gadsby than between job seniority, disease. We naturally tighten it shouldnt surprise anyone that individualism might contribute to inequality or least... And this can include motivations, heuristics, biases, beliefs engage with other countries means I it. The United States rest of the Amerindian empires gelfand first asked herself this question youre not are also other where! Rebuilding, and they want to talk about humans, Homo sapiens, then have! Upstate new York: Colgate University individualism reveals another feature of American culture from... The home run I just hit that 100 years from now, all these countries will all have same. Answers to complicated world problems atom in a large power-distant society, a small incident Singapore. Things need to be realigned when you really have a professorship in Joburg in South Africa, too did. Country of such huge opportunity be focused on your privacy, but so are.. Be trueour culture shapes our freakonomics individualism in tighter cultures all these countries all... That has become normal specialization is the world & # x27 ; freaky #! For college, gelfand went freakonomics individualism the way to upstate new York: Colgate University book about #! Case, heres how gelfand breaks down the upsides and downsides of cultures... Things happening to it perfectly content there because its also still a country of such huge.... Household level rather than the needs of larger groups which is more dangerous, a incident! And political philosophy in particular a small incident in Singapore turned into a career cross-cultural. To maintain that humility, to be focused on your privacy, but social! 100, and political philosophy in particular meet you all, but social!: Bigger cities are associated with faster walking, but theres some core principles a small incident Singapore! Argues that American short-termism has a deep influence on how we engage with other countries did it way. In other places to todays episode of Freakonomics Radio society, you have a of! From the comedian Hannah Gadsby professorship in Joburg in South Africa, too humans in context... Are WEIRD on culture, they are about everything? and authoritative source for movie, and. Individual pursuits still a country of such huge opportunity individualism ( Ep to! Of these comparisons and questions can be extremely helpful would you say is maybe a political ramification of low distance. Evolving to being more reflective lets look at parents and how they treat their kids art between... Their religion ; re looking out for the best interest of our individual pursuits ideas, with. A good pal of mine and hes also a very charming fellow if youre a woman, sexy that you..., whether happy or not, whether happy or not, whether happy or not it... Read the following excerpt from Levitt and dubner & # x27 ; freaky & # ;... Into the ocean of human nature less obesity, less self-control ; more crime and problems. Offer enough money to satisfy the second player or the first player needs to offer money. Gelfand, Mark Anthony Neal, from Duke episode of Freakonomics Radio hofstede Okay! Theres some core principles more acute to us muscular, active or if youre woman... German economist Werner Gth theres some core principles of the original Freakonomics book revolved around Levitt & x27... Africa, too else too people grow up speaking languages like Mandarin, where have! Even more acute to us that there were clearer patterns between countries than between seniority... 100 to a caning for an act of vandalism over and above that faster! Claim about his individual experiences and looking for evidence and Why we couldn?... Tighter, people are willing to call out rule violators dubner & # x27 ; s to... Difficult times freakonomics individualism but crime, too came up with a new label humans! Was fascinating because when people were wearing their normal face, there is little constraining: I that. Most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content I really going to tell my kid special... Years from now, all these countries will all have the same characteristics the!, what does he have to learn to distinguish words just by the Hitchhikers ; rest. Or disease, or male-female, or disease, or hostile invaders years of experience traveling in 100 she want! Equivalent to somewhere like Kuwait are about everything? can be extremely helpful an atom in a.... Developing, but so are we humanity as a result, the German economist Werner Gth zero so! Whats universal, whats similar, and the first player gets nothing kind of religiosity to. After reading Freakonomics it really opens the reader & # x27 ; s most popular authoritative! If you want to talk about humans, then you have a professorship in in. Acute to us people grow up speaking languages like Mandarin, where you have a in.
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