Saturday, July 3, 2010
Question #3
I found the information in chapter twelve regarding collectivists and individualists very interesting. I am not sure why the book states these values as being related to human nature, while at the same time, identifying them as cultures. Is it one or the other, or both? As an American, it is hard to imagine living in an environment that doesn’t put such grand emphasis on individual achievement. Is this only cultural, or are some of us born to be more competitive, and attracted to individualism over collectivism? I am also curious, if in fact individualism and collectivism are human nature, if gender plays a role in which of these an individual leans towards. It is easy to think that women, the caretakers of the family, are pre-disposed to being more collective, while men, the “hunters” would tend to be more competitive and drawn toward individualism.
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Hi THELITTLETOMATOE:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post. It's interesting right...your statement investigating the experience of "living in an environment that doesn't put such grand emphasis on individual achievement." In working closely with “Millennial” students through advising and supervising, I often wonder what it’d be like if the majority of them didn’t grow up receiving trophies just because they participated! For me, I experienced the “athlete of the year” won this or the “most improved” won that; and everyone else went home. Now, with “helicopter parents” and entitlement being something to expect from most young people born into Generation Y. Sometimes, I experience individualism on overdrive, especially if the student is American, because s/he is focused on “self” from the perspective of both their “American” cultural rearing and their generational concept of self.