Understanding Regional Cultural-Psychological Variations and Their Sources in China: A Comprehensive Examination of Relevant Theories

This research comprehensively examined regional variations in individualism and collectivism within China and the explanatory power of 20 potential factors derived from the existing cultural psychological theories, including socioecological (e.g., climates, subsistence activities, and modernization) and population (e.g., ethnicity, genetic and linguistic features) ones. Three large-scale studies were conducted. In Study 1 (N = 18,606), we assessed 11 markers of individualism-collectivism. In Studies 2 and 3, we evaluated whether the main findings of Study 1 could be replicated in two large community samples (N = 8,167 and 20,590, respectively) when perceived cultures of individualism and collectivism were considered and when the pandemic of COVID-19 was going on, respectively. Three studies consistently showed that (1) systematic East-West differences in individualism and collectivism existed, with higher individualism and lower collectivism in Eastern China than in Western China; meanwhile, there was some suggestive evidence of North-South differences, with higher individualism and lower collectivism in Southern China than in Northern China; (2) among the predictive socioecological (e.g., pathogen prevalence, modernization) and population factors (e.g., ethnicity, genetic and linguistic relatedness), modernization was the most potent and robust predictor of individualism and collectivism; (3) regional cultural variations often arose from the combined influences of multiple factors; and (4) the evidence supported most existing theories about the sources of cultural variation, with a few exceptions (e.g., the rice theory). These findings provide novel insights into regional cultural variations and the applicability of many relevant theories within China, and also shed light on cross-cultural psychology in general.