Ecological and Psychosocial Uniqueness of Collectivist Practices Versus Mindsets

Objective practices and subjective mindsets of collectivism are usually treated as inseparable twins. However, collectivist practices (e.g., living in extended families) and collectivist mindsets (e.g., preferring us over them ) have distinct connections with ecological circumstances and different impacts on psychosocial functioning. This study clarifies these differences using ecological characteristics and psychosocial flourishing as criteria. Notably, our analysis of cross-sectional data from 120 countries reveals a path from increased habitat variability to decreased collectivist practices, followed by decreased collectivist mindsets, and ultimately, increased psychosocial flourishing. Additionally, national wealth reinforces the reductional impact of habitat variability on collectivist mindsets but not on collectivist practices. Finally, our country-level and multi-level analyses demonstrate that both societally shared and personally encountered experiences of psychosocial flourishing can distinguish between behavioral and mental manifestations of cultural collectivism versus individualism. These results challenge the broader notion that cultural practices and mindsets are interchangeable.