| title: |
On the nature of individualism and collectivism |
| reg no: |
ETF6797 |
| project type: |
Estonian Science Foundation research grant |
| subject: |
5.6. Psychology
|
| status: |
accepted |
| institution: |
TU Faculty of Social Sciences |
| head of project: |
Anu Realo |
| duration: |
01.01.2006 - 31.12.2007 |
| description: |
The main aim of this project is to write an English-language book on the nature of individualism and collectivism. The book will be the final stage of my long-term theoretical and empirical work on these constructs. In this book I will combine the empirical material collected by psychologists and social scientists during the past two-three decades with anthropological and historical evidence. What are the essential attributes of individualism and collectivism? What are the historically different ways to solve the tension between the individual and the collective? How are individualism and collectivism conceptualized in psychology in comparison to how the constructs are usually seen and understood in the social sciences? What is a relationship between individualism and modernization? Do cultures include both individualist and collectivist tendencies? How are individualism and collectivism related to social capital? These are just some questions I will discuss in my book. In relation to the writing of the book, an empirical study has been designed which will focus on the impact of culture and religion on materialistic values. The results of this study would add important insights into the religious and historical background of the individualism-collectivism constructs. |