A Summary: Teachers and Students in Collectivist vs. Individualist Societies

The direct source of this chart is Li Qing, whose presentation is listed in the References. Li Qing drew on two other sources also listed in the references: H. Douglas Brown and Geerte Hofstede.

In this chart, Li Qing was attempting to generalize about a large number of societies that social scientists label “individualist” and “collectivist.” Certainly there will be exceptions and qualifications, particularly in China, a huge country that is undergoing huge changes. Readers should not expect every idea in this chart to reflect the current reality in all parts of China or any other place. Even so, the chart helps convey some important contrasts.