Individualism-collectivism : reconstructing Hofstede’s dimension of cultural differences

Individualism-Collectivism (I-C), a key concept in cross-cultural research and one of the most studied context variables in personality, social, and developmental psychology, is often treated as synonymous with Hofstede’s pioneering nation scores. Concerns are growing about these scores’ validity, but subsequent research has not produced a widely accepted alternative. In Study 1, we systematically evaluated Hofstede’s I-C index, revealing inferior convergent and nomological validity compared to subsequent measures. Specific biases in Hofstede’s scores overestimate the individualism of English-speaking countries and collectivism of East Asian societies, which may perpetuate cultural stereotypes and underpin flawed theorizing. We illustrate how applying Hofstede’s scores can bias research findings. In Study 2, we aimed to develop an authoritative, theory-driven I-C index, using nationally representative data from the World Values Survey and European Values Study, covering 102 countries/territories inhabited by an estimated 88% of the world’s population. Our index shows excellent internal coherence and temporal stability and outperforms Hofstede’s I-C in associations with a nomological network of 28 societal indicators theoretically linked to I-C. We argue for an overdue paradigm shift in cross-cultural research: scholars should rely on theoretically appropriate and up-to-date measures of societal culture when seeking to understand global variation in human psychological functioning.