Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Individualism/collectivism and personality in Italian and American Groups

  • Published:
Current Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Italian (n = 129) and American (n = 86) samples were evaluated with the Five Factor Inventory of personality and a measure of individualism/collectivism. Greater individualism was seen in the American group than the Italian group, as in the Hofstede (2019) data. For the Italian sample only, greater individualism was associated with greater neuroticism and greater collectivism was associated with lower neuroticism. This may reflect poor culture fit for Italians with a very individualistic orientation given that Italy falls between the United States and Asian countries in terms of the individualism/collectivism dimension. Other studies have shown better personal adjustment being associated with having a personality that fits with the culture in which one is embedded. For both Italian and American groups, higher collectivism was associated with higher extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness consistent with other reports. Additional findings included higher openness in the Italian group and higher conscientiousness in the American group.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford Press.

  • Bhullar, N., Schutte, N.S., Malouff, J.M. (2012). Trait emotional intelligence as a moderator of the relationship between psychological distress and satisfaction with life. Individual Differences Research. 10(1):19–26.

  • Bleidorn, W., Kandler, C., Riemann, R., Angleitner, A., & Spinath, F. M. (2009). Patterns and sources of adult personality development: Growth curve analyses of the NEO PI-R scales in a longitudinal twin study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 142–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 155–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa, P., & McCrae, R. (1992). NEO-PI-R. Lutz: Psychological Assessment Resources.

    Google Scholar 

  • Damian, R., Spengler, M., Sutu, A., & Roberts, B. (2019). Sixteen going on sixty-six: A longitudinal study of personality stability and change across 50 years. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 117(3), 674–695.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Diener, M., & Diener, C. (1995). Factors predicting the subjective well- being of nations. Journel of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 851–864.

  • Gyorkos, C., Becker, J., Massoudi, K., Antoinette, J., Pocnet, C., de Bruin, G., & Rossier, J. (2013). Comparing the horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism scale and the Auckland individualism and collectivism scale in two cultures: Switzerland and South Africa. Cross-Cultural Research, 25, 310–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede, G. (1980). Cultures consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede, G. (2001). Cultures consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede, G. (2019). Country comparison tool. Retrieved from https://www.hofstede-insights.com.

  • Hofstede, G., & McCrae, R. (2004). Personality and culture revisited: Linking traits and dimensions of culture. Cross-Cultural Research, 38, 52–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitayama, S., Markus, H., & Kurokawa, M. (2000). Culture, emotion, and well-being: Good feelings in Japan and the United States. Cognition and Emotion, 14, 93–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lalwani, A., Shrum, L., & Chiu, C. (2009). Motivated response styles: The role of cultural values, regulatory focus, and self-consciousness in socially desirable responding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96(4), 870–882.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H., & Kitayama, S. (2010). Cultures and selves: A cycle of mutual constitution. Perspectives in Psychological Science, 5, 420–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R.R., & Costa, P.T. (1997). Personality trait structure as human universal. American Psychologist, 52, 509-516. Nunnally, J. & Bernstein, I.H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

  • McCrae, R., & Costa, P. (2004). A contemplated revision of the NEO five factor inventory. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 587–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R., & Costa, P. (2007). Brief versions of the NEO-PI-3. Journal of Individual Differences, 28(3), 116–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R., & Costa, P. (2010). NEO inventories for the NEO personality Inventory-3 (NEO-PI-3), Neo five-factor Inventory-3 (NEO-FFI-3), NEO personality inventory-revised (NEO-PI-R). Florida: Psychological Assessment Resources.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R., & Terraciano, A. (2008). The five factor model and its correlates in individuals and cultures. In F. J. R. Van de Vijver, D. A. Van Hemert, & Y. H. Poortinga (Eds.), Multilevel analysis of individuals and cultures. Mahwah: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R., Terraciano, A., & 79 members of the Personality Profiles of Cultures Project. (2005). Personality profiles of cultures: Aggregate personality traits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 407–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mossakowski, K. N. (2007). Are immigrants healthier? The case of depression among Filipino Americans. Social Psychology Quarterly, 70(3), 290–304.

  • Oyserman, D., Coon, H., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2002). Rethinking individualism and collectivism: Evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 3–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paquet, S. L., & Kline, T. J. B. (2009). Uncovering the psychometric properties of scales measuring individualist and collectivist orientations. International Journal of Testing, 9, 260–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pervin, L. (2002). Current controversies and issues in personality. New York: John Wiley.

  • Realo, A., Allik, J., & Vadi, M. (1997). The hierarchical structure of collectivism. Journal of Research in Personality, 31(1), 93–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmitz, P. (1994). Acculturation and adaptation processes among immigrants in Germany. In A. Bouvy, F. Vijver, P. Boski, & P. Schmitz (Eds.), Journeys into cross cultural psychology. Lisse: Swets and Zeitlinger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singelis, T. (1994). The measurement of independent and interdependent self-construals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 580–591.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singelis, T., Triandis, H., Bhawuk, D., & Gelfand, M. (1995). Horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism and collectivism: A theoretical and measurement refinement. Cross-Cultural Research, 29, 240–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terracciano, A. (2003). The Italian version of the NEO PI-R: Conceptual and empirical support for the use of targeted rotation. Personality and Individual Differences, 35(8), 1859–1872. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00035-7.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H. (1996). The psychological measurement of cultural syndromes. American Psychologist, 51, 407–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H., & Gelfand, M. (1998). Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 118–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, C., & Chang, W. (1997). “Cultural fit:” a new perspective on personality and sojourner adjustment. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 21, 525–533.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Harkness, A. R. (1994). Structures of personality and their relevance to psychopathology. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103(1), 18–31.

  • Zobel, A., Barkow, K., Schulze-Rauschenbach, S., von Widdern, O., Metten, M., Pfeiffer, U. et al. (2004). High neuroticism and depressive temperament are associated with dysfunctional regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system in healthy volunteers. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 109:392–399.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Science, University of Connecticut, One University Place, Stamford, CT, 06901, USA

    Leslie Burton

  2. University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    Elisa Delvecchio, Alessandro Germani & Claudia Mazzeschi

Authors
  1. Leslie Burton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elisa Delvecchio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Alessandro Germani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Claudia Mazzeschi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Leslie Burton.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Burton, L., Delvecchio, E., Germani, A. et al. Individualism/collectivism and personality in Italian and American Groups. Curr Psychol 40, 29–34 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00584-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00584-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation