Individualist and Collectivist Norms: When It's OK to Go your Own Way

Conducted two studies to investigate the influence of group norms endorsing individualism and collectivism on the evaluations of group members who display individualist or collectivist behavior. It was reasoned that, overall, collectivist behavior benefits the group and would be evaluated more positively than would individualist behavior. However, it was further predicted that this preference would be attenuated by the specific content of the group norm. Namely, when norms prescribed individualism, the authors expected that preferences for collectivist behavior over individualist behavior would be attenuated, as individualist behavior would, paradoxically, represent normative behavior. These predictions were supported across two studies in which we manipulated norms of individualism and collectivism in an organizational role-play. Furthermore, in Study 2, the authors found evidence for the role of group identification in moderating the effects of norms. The results are discussed with reference to social identity theory and cross-cultural work on individualism and collectivism.