Individualism-collectivism (IC) constitutes a cultural variable thought to influence a wide variety of variables including career planning and decision making. To examine this possibility, college students (216 women, 106 men, 64% racial-ethnic minorities) responded to measures of IC, occupational plans, and work values. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) results indicated significant main effects for gender and race. Men, more so than women, endorsed vertical individualism (VI)—a cultural pattern characterized by independence and dominance—and intrinsic work values. African Americans expressed more fit of their occupational plans with personal goals and endorsed extrinsic work values more than did European Americans. A hypothesized inverse relationship between collectivism and consistency of occupational plans with personal goals was not supported. Hypothesized positive relationships between collectivism and work values stressing relationship and interdependence were supported, whereas expected inverse relationships between collectivism and work values emphasizing independence and personal gain were not supported. Findings are discussed in terms of acculturation issues, career assessment implications, and future research directions.
Ayyash-Abdo, H. ( 2002). Adolescent suicide: An ecological approach. Psychology in the Schools, 39, 459-475.
2.
Betz, N.E. ( 1993). Toward the integration of multicultural and career psychology . Career Development Quarterly, 42, 53-55.
3.
Blustein, D.L. ( 2006). The psychology of working: A new perspective for career development, counseling, and public policy. Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum.
4.
Bowman, S.L. ( 1993). Career intervention strategies for ethnic minorities . Career Development Quarterly, 42, 14-25.
5.
Carrero, M.R. ( 2003). The influence of individualism-collectivism on the career development of ethnic minorities in the United States. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 63, 4406.
6.
Cauce, A.M., Domenech-Rodriguez, M., Paradise, M., Cochran, B.N., Shea, J.M., Srebnik, D., et al. (2002). Cultural and contextual influences in mental health help seeking: A focus on ethnic minority youth. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 44-55.
7.
Earley, P.C., & Gibson, C.B. ( 1998). Taking stock in our progress on individualism-collectivism: 100 years of solidarity and community. Journal of Management , 24, 265-304.
8.
Fitzgerald, L.F., & Betz, N.E. ( 1994). Career development in cultural context: The role of gender, race, class, and sexual orientation. In M. L. Savickas & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Convergence in career development theories: Implications for science and practice (pp. 103-117). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
9.
Fouad, N.A. ( 1993). Cross-cultural vocational assessment. Career Development Quarterly, 42, 4-13.
10.
Gire, J.T. ( 2002). A cross-national study of motives for drinking alcohol . Substance Use and Misuse, 37, 215-223.
11.
Hartung, P.J., Speight, J.D., & Lewis, D.M. ( 1996). Individualism-collectivism and the vocational behavior of majority culture college students. Career Development Quarterly , 45, 87-96.
12.
Hartung, P.J., Vandiver, B.J., Leong, F.T.L., Pope, M., Niles, S.G., & Farrow, B. ( 1998). Appraising cultural identity in career-development assessment and counseling. Career Development Quarterly, 46, 276-293.
13.
Hershenson, D.B. ( 1964). Erikson’s ‘‘sense of identity,’’ occupational fit, and enculturation in adolescence. Dissertation Abstracts International, 25/05, 3101.
14.
Hershenson, D.B. ( 1967). Sense of identity, occupational fit, and enculturation in adolescence. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 14, 319-324.
15.
Hofstede, G.H. ( 1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE.
16.
Kagitcibasi, C. ( 1994). A critical appraisal of individualism and collectivism: Toward a new formulation. In U. Kim, H. C. Triandis, C. Kagitcibasi , S. C. Choi, & G. Yoon (Eds.), Individualism and collectivism: Theory, method, and applications (pp. 52-65). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
17.
Kashima, Y., Yamaguchi, S., Kim, U., & Choi, S. ( 1995). Culture, gender, and self: A perspective from individualism-collectivism research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 925-937.
18.
Kemmelmeier, M., Wieczorkowska, G., Erb, H.P., & Burnstein, E. ( 2002). Individualism, authoritarianism, and attitudes toward assisted death: Cross-cultural, cross-regional, and experimental evidence . Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 60-85.
19.
Leong, F.T.L. ( 1993). The career counseling process with racial-ethnic minorities: The case of Asian Americans. Career Development Quarterly , 42, 26-40.
20.
Leong, F.T.L. ( 1997). Cross-cultural career psychology: Comment on Fouad, Harmon, and Borgen (1997) and Tracey, Watanabe, and Schneider (1997). Journal of Counseling Psychology, 44, 355-359.
21.
Leong, F.T.L., & Hartung, P.J. ( 2000). Cross-cultural career assessment: Review and prospects for the new millennium. Journal of Career Assessment, 8, 391-401.
22.
Leong, F.T.L., & Tata, S.P. ( 1990). Sex and acculturation differences in occupational values among Chinese-American children. Journal of Counseling Psychology , 37, 208-212.
23.
Noordin, F., Williams, T., & Zimmer, C. ( 2002). Career commitment in collectivist and individualist cultures: A comparative study. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13, 35-54.
24.
Offerman, L.R., & Hellmann, P.S. (1997). Culture’s consequences for leadership behavior: National values in action. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 28, 342-351.
25.
O’Neil, D.A., Hopkins, M.M., & Bilimoria, D. ( 2008). Women’s careers at the start of the 21st century: Patterns and paradoxes. Journal of Business Ethics, 80, 727-743.
26.
Oyserman, D., Coon, H.M., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2002). Rethinking individualism and collectivism: Evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses . Psychological Bulletin, 128, 3-72.
27.
Oyserman, D., & Lee, S.W.S. (2008). Does culture influence what and how we think? Effects of priming individualism and collectivism. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 311-342.
28.
Ramamoorthy, N., & Carroll, S.J. ( 1998). Individualism/collectivism orientations and reactions toward alternative human resource management practices. Human Relations, 51, 571-588.
29.
Robinson, C.H., & Betz, N.E. ( 2008). A psychometric evaluation of Super’s work values inventory-revised. Journal of Career Assessment, 16, 456-473.
30.
Savickas, M.L., Carden, A.D., Toman, S., & Jarjoura, D. ( 1992). Dimensions of career decidedness. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 25, 102-112.
31.
Singelis, T.M., Triandis, H.C., Bhawuk, D.P., & Gelfand, M.J. ( 1995). Horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism and collectivism: A theoretical measurement and refinement. Cross-Cultural Research: The Journal of Comparative Social Science, 29, 240-275.
32.
Soh, S., & Leong, F.T.L. ( 2002). Validity of vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism in Singapore: Relationship with values and interests. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33, 3-15.
33.
Subich, L.M. ( 2005). Career assessment with culturally diverse individuals . In W. B. Walsh & M. L. Savickas (Eds.), Handbook of vocational psychology (3rd ed.; pp. 397-421). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
34.
Super, D.E. ( 1970). Work values inventory: Manual. Boston : Houghton Mifflin.
35.
Swanson, J.L., & Bowman, S.L. ( 1994). Career assessment with African-American clients. Journal of Career Assessment, 2, 210-255.
36.
Tata, S.P., & Leong, F.T.L. ( 1994). Individualism-collectivism, social-network orientation, and acculturation as predictors of attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Chinese Americans. Journal of Counseling Psychology , 41, 280-287.
37.
Triandis, H.C., Brislin, R., & Hui, C.H. ( 1988). Cross-cultural training across the individualism-collectivism divide. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 12, 269-289.
38.
Triandis, H.C. ( 1994). Culture and social behavior. New York : McGraw-Hill.
39.
Triandis, H.C. ( 1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview.
40.
Triandis, H.C. ( 2001a). Individualism-collectivism and personality. Journal of Personality, 69, 907-924.
41.
Triandis, H.C. ( 2001b). Individualism and collectivism: Past, present, and future . In D. Matsumoto (Ed.), The handbook of culture and psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
42.
Triandis, H.C., & Gelfand, M.J. ( 1998). Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 74, 118-128.
43.
Triandis, H.C., McCusker, C., & Hui, C.H. ( 1990). Multimethod probes of individualism and collectivism . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 1006-1020.
44.
Triandis, H.C., & Suh, E.M. ( 2002). Cultural influences on personality. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 133-160.
45.
Vondracek, F.W., & Fouad, N.A. ( 1994). Developmental contextualism: An integrative framework for theory and practice. In M. L. Savickas & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Convergence in career development theories: Implications for science and practice (pp. 207-214). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
46.
Walsh, W.B., & Srsic, C. ( 1995). Annual review: Vocational behavior and career development - 1994. Career Development Quarterly, 44, 98-145.
47.
Workman, M. ( 2001). Collectivism, individualism, and cohesion in a team-based occupation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58, 82-97.
