美国个人主义和中国集体主义对照与分析

学科分类号050201论文编号解放军外国语学院硕士学位论文美国个人主义和中国集体主义对照与分析作者姓名范莹导师姓名潘志高解放军外国语学院2006年11月学科分类号050201论文编号解放军外国语学院硕士学位论文美国个人主义和中国集体主义对照与分析作者姓名范莹学科门类外语语言文学专业名称英语语言文学研究方向美国研究学习单位解放军外国语学院学习时间2004.07－2007.03提交时间2006.11学位类别硕士导师姓名潘志高职称教授学位博士工作单位解放军外国语学院项目来源自选关键词美国个人主义中国集体主义AContrastandAnalysesbetweenAmericanIndividualismandChineseCollectivismADissertationSubmittedtotheGraduateSchoolofthePLAForeignLanguageUniversityinPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheDegreeofMasterofArtsByFanYingSupervisedbyProfessorPanZhigaoNovember2006提要二十一世纪迎来了全球化的新浪潮，从而加速了世界文化交流的进程。在全球化不断推进的过程中，中美两国作为世界上两个举足轻重的大国，它们之间的相互依赖关系程度也在不断加强。但同时中美价值观的不同又是构成两国文化冲突的一个必不可少的因素。冷战结束后，1993年美国社会学家塞缪尔·亨廷顿在《文明冲突》这一书中提出“冲突的焦点在最近的将来会集中在西方与一些伊斯兰——儒教国家关系上”的观点，东西方文明或文化冲突取代意识形态冲突，逐渐成为一个世人关注的热点话题。人们开始意识到东西方文化间的相互影响正在成为一个引导国际生活模式的十分重要的力量。文化像一座冰山，其中只有一部分是可以肉眼所见的，而大部分却隐藏起来，不易被人发觉。在我们仅仅了解文化中看得见的一部分时，往往忽视了藏于表面之下的另一更大的部分，这很容易使人从看到的那部分轻易得出一个其实并不完全正确的判断，或形成一种僵化的思维模式和偏见，或产生过于绝对化的看法，有时甚至产生文化有优劣之分的看法。因此研究文化的差异是一件看似简单却不容易的事情。跨文化研究的基础是研究文化的相异。研究文化差异的目的是为了更好地相互学习而不是比较优劣。个人主义和集体主义是理解东西方文化的一个重要因素，可以揭示两种文化的主要差异。个人主义和集体主义实际上影响到社会的交往和交流。东西方强调个人主义和集体主义的原则是完全不同的，双方的交流模式、行为和风格也是不同的，缺乏文化差异的意识和了解是引起东西方文化冲突的原因所在。而对个人主义和集体主义的深入了解帮助我们预见不同文化背景下人们的行为方式，使人们决定和调整自己的方法以确保跨文化交际的成功。因此，个人主义和集体主义被广泛地用于解释人们在行为上的文化差异。对美国的研究离不开对美国个人地位的研究。正如托克维尔所言，个人主义仍然是代表美国传统特征的关键因素，历史学家们将美国的繁荣和民主的建立归因于自力更生的精神和个人主义。而中国的主流哲学是孔子思想，它极其强调集体利益的重要性。简而言之，分析美国的个人主义和中国的集体主义可以揭示两种文化的实质以及两种社会所面临问题的根源。美国个人主义和中国集体主义的对照与分析可以帮助我们更好地了解中美两国的社会和文化，更加有效地避免文化冲突。中美文化差异和文化价值观的不同构成了两国文化冲突的重要因素。一方面文化冲突具有各种表现形式，大多数是由于两国个人主义和集体主义价值观在一定条件下的剧烈碰撞。但是另一方面两国个人主义和集体主义价值观的差异也可促使异质文化取长补短、交汇融合。因此研究两国价值观中的美国个人主义和中国集体主义的差异就显得尤为重要。I许多知名学者、专家写过大量文章和专著，从不同的角度来探讨中美文化的冲突和融合，并取得一定的成就。作为方向是美国研究的硕士生，随着在学习过程中对美国社会和文化的了解不断深入，作者对中美民族性格和价值观的差异产生了浓厚的兴趣，但毕竟这个研究选题太大，因此本文作者采用比较研究方法，以Hofstede关于个人主义集体主义的理论为基础，将美国个人主义和中国集体主义进行对照和分析。其目的是在两国的文化上开一扇窗，在文化的冰山上凿一个洞，以期揭示中美文化深层差异的内涵和中美价值观中最核心的部分，使中美双方能够了解彼此文化的差异以避免文化冲突。本文共分七章。第一章提纲挈领地介绍了全文的主要内容，对比较的内容和对象、论文的假设和论文要达到的目的和论文的结构做了一个简要的说明。第二章将与论文相关的定义和Hofstede关于个人主义、集体主义的理论作为该论文的理论框架。第三章将集体主义者和个人主义者放在大的环境——中美社会中进行比较，比较范围从美国人崇尚的自我、平等自由到中国人推崇的谦虚、等级观念等等。第四章将美国的个人主义和中国的集体主义放在较为具体的环境——工作中进行比较，以揭示其在态度和行为上的细微差异。第五章将两方面放在生活中进行比较，从而在第三章和第四章的对照比较的基础上进一步揭示美国个人主义和中国集体主义的差异。本文第六章分析了造成差异的根源所在，包括中美两国的宗教哲学、历史起源和地理经济等方面的差异。第七章作为全文的一个总结，不仅概括了全文的内容，还提出作者的一些建议。在结尾部分，文章重申中国和美国位于集体主义和个人主义这一体系相对的两端，分别代表东西方的价值观。但我们不能因此而得出结论，美国是绝对的个人主义，是一成不变的，美国个人主义价值观中包含有团队精神；也不能说中国是绝对的集体主义，尤其是现在，受西方文化价值观的影响，中国的集体主义中也有了隐私这个字眼。尽管中美两国文化存在巨大差异，这些差异是构成两国在一系列问题上产生分歧的重要原因，但两国在国际社会很多领域共同的利益决定了他们应该合作而不是对抗。重要的是两国要通过接触，交流和对话增进了解、减少分歧、扩大共识。笔者衷心希望中美两国能多增加文化的交流和共融，两国人民携手共创美好的未来。关键词：美国；个人主义；中国；集体主义IIEnglishAbstractAftertheworldenteredthenewmillennium,globalizationhasacceleratedtheflowofculturalcommunication.TheongoingprocessofglobalizationhasbeenpromotingtheinterdependencebetweenChinaandtheUnitedStates,thetwoimportantcountriesintheworld.SincethecloseoftheColdWar,especiallyin1993,whenAmericansociologistSamuelP.HuntingtonstatedinhisbookTheClashofCivilizationthattheclashoncivilizations“betweenthewestandseveralIslamic-ConfucianStates”willbe“acentralfocusofconflictfortheimmediatefuture”，theclashofcivilizationandcultureintheWestandEast,insteadofideology’sclashhastriggeredoffanewattentionallovertheworldandreachedaclimax.MutualimpactsbetweentheEasternandWesternculturesarebeginningtoberecognizedasafundamentalforcedirectingtheinternationallifepattern.Likeaniceberg,onlysomeofcultureisvisible.Mostofitisbelowthesurfaceofourawareness.Itisnoteasilyobservable.Whenweonlylearnvisibleculture,wearemissingthebiggerpartthatisbelowthesurface.Itislikelyforpeopletohaveamisunderstandingfromthevisibleandsuperficialpart,toformstereotypesandprejudices,tohaveanabsolutethinking,eventocomparewhichissuperiortotheothers.Soinfactacontrastofdifferentculturesisnotaneasywork.Thebaseofinterculturalcommunicationistounderstandthedifferencesofcultures.Itsaimistolearnfromeachotherratherthancomparingwhichoneisbetterthananother.Theindividualism-collectivismdichotomyisanimportantelementtounderstandtheWesternandEasterncultures,becauseitcanrevealamajordifferencebetweenthetwocultures.Collectivismandindividualismactuallyaffectsocialinteractionsandcommunications.AstheprinciplesunderlyingindividualismandcollectivismbetweentheWestandEastareentirelydifferent,thecommunicationpatterns,behaviors,andstylesbetweenthetwosidesarealsoentirelydifferent.Alackofawarenessandmisinformationarethecausesofmanycross-culturalconflicts.Adeepunderstandingoftheindividualismorcollectivismofanotherculturehelpsustopredictthebehaviorsofpeoplefromitandthenenablepeopletodecideandadjusttheirapproachtoensureasuccessfulinterculturalcommunication.Thereforetheindividualism-collectivismdichotomyhasbeenwidelyusedtoexplainculturaldifferencesinbehaviors.InAmericanstudy,noconcernismorecenteredthanthatwiththestatusofindividualinAmerica.AsdescribedbyTocqueville,individualismremainsthekeyfactortocharacterizetheIIIAmericantradition.HistorianshaveattributedAmericanprosperityanditspromotionofdemocracytothespiritofself-relianceandindividualism.InthecaseofChina,thecoreofitsmainstreamphilosophyistheideaofConfucius,whichattractsoverwhelmingimportancetotheinterestofthegroup.Inshort,analysisonAmericanindividualismandChinesecollectivismcanrevealtheessenceofthetwoculturesandtherootsofthecriticalproblemsencounteredbythetwosocieties.AcontrastandanalysisofAmericanindividualismandChinesecollectivismcanhelpusunderstandmoreaboutAmericanandChinesesocietiesandcultures，toavoidculturalclashmoreeffectively.CulturaldifferenceanddifferentvaluesinAmericaandChinaconstitutefactorsofculturalclashrespectively.Ontheonehand,theclashofbothcountries’culturehasvariousforms,andmostofthemareduetoacutecollisionofindividualismandcollectivisminacertaincondition.Butontheotherhand,diversitybetweenculturesinAmericaandChinaalsopromotesthemtolearnfromother’sstrongpointstooffsetone’sweakness,reconciliationandcooperation.SotheresearchofdifferentvaluesinAmericanindividualismandChinesecollectivismhastheoreticalandrealisticsignificance.Manyscholarsandexpertshavedevotedagreatmanyeffortstoexplorethisfieldfromvariousperspectives,andtheyhavegotalotofachievements.However,withtheincreasingunderstandingofAmericansocietyandcultureintheprocessofstudy,asaMACandidatefocusingonAmericanStudies,theauthorofthisthesisismoreinterestedinthedifferencesofnationalcharactersandvaluesofAmericanandChinesecultures.Butthetopicsaretoobigandwideforthisthesis.BasedonHofstede’sindividualism-collectivismtheory,throughacomparativestudy,theauthorselectscollectivismandindividualismofthetwocountriesasresearchperspectivetocontrastandanalyzethem.Theprimarypurposeofthisthesisistoopenawindowintwocultures,todigaholeinculturalicebergs,hopingtoexploretheintrinsicimplicationinAmericanandChinesecultureandthemostcentralpartofvaluesfromsuperficialsurfacesothatthepeopleofbothtwocountriescanunderstandtheculturaldifferencesandavoidculturalclash.Thisthesisisdividedintosevenchapters.Chapteronegivesanintroductoryaccountofthewholethesis,includingreviewofliterature,hypothesisandstructureofthepaper.ChaptertwomainlyintroducesdefinitionsandHofstede’stheoriesofindividualismandcollectivism,whichserveasthetheoreticalframeworkofthisresearch.ChapterthreeputsemphasisonthecomparisonIVofindividualismandcollectivisminbroadandgeneralsurroundings—AmericanandChinesesociety,rangingfromextendingselfandequalitywhichAmericanshighlyvaluetotheChinesehumility,hierarchyandsoon.Chapterfourobservesandcomparespersonalattitudesandbehaviorsofcollectivismandindividualisminsmallandspecificsurroundings—workinggroupstoexploresubtledifferences.ChapterfivefocusesonthecontrastofAmericanindividualismandChinesecollectivismindailylifeasthesupplementaryofchapterthreeandchapterfour’scomparisons.Chaptersixpresentstheroot-causesofthesedifferences,includingreligionandphilosophy,historyandpopulation,geographyandeconomyofChinaandAmerica.Andfinally,chaptersevenconcludesthisthesiswithasummaryofthepaper,inwhichsomesuggestionsarealsoincluded.ThefinalpartofthisthesisproceedstotheconclusionthattheUnitedStatesandChinastandonalmostoppositeendsofthecontinuumofindividualismandcollectivism,andrespectivelyrepresentWesternandEasternvalues.WecannotdirectlyassertthatAmericaisanabsoluteindividualisticsocietyandwithoutchange,inindividualismofAmericathereisteamspirit,andwecannotsaythatChinaisanabsolutecollectivisticsociety,becauseundertheinfluenceofwesternculture,thereisalsoprivacyinChinarecently.AlthoughtherearesignificantdifferencesinChineseandAmericanculturesandthesedifferencesconstituteakeyreasonbehindthetwocountries’disagreementonseriesofquestions,thetwocountrieshaveimportantcommoninterestsinmanyfields,whichdecidethattheyshouldhavemutualcooperationinsteadofconflict.Theimportantthingistopromotemutualunderstandingthroughcontactanddialoguesoastoreducedisagreementsandexpandcommonground.TheauthorofthisthesissincerelyhopesthatChinaandAmericamayincreaseculturalcommunicationandcooperationandthetwopeoplemaywalkhandinhandintoabrightfuture.Keywords:America;Individualism;China;CollectivismVTableofContentsChapterOneIntroduction·····················································································11.1TheIndividualism-CollectivismDichotomy···················································11.2ReviewofLiterature·······················································································21.3Hypothesis······································································································31.4StructureofthePaper·····················································································4ChapterTwoTheoreticalFramework···································································52.1TheDefinitionsofIndividualismandCollectivism········································52.2Hofstede’sTheoryofIndividualism-Collectivism··········································7ChapterThreeAmericanIndividualismandChineseCollectivism······················113.1AmericanIndividualism··············································································113.2ChineseCollectivism···················································································143.3TheNegativeSidesofAmericanIndividualismandChineseCollectivism·18ChapterFourAmericanIndividualismandChineseCollectivisminWorkingGroups·········································································································214.1FindingPlacesinWorkingGroups································································224.2.EstablishingValuesinWorkingGroups························································234.3AchievingResultsinWorkingGroups···························································25ChapterFiveAmericanIndividualismandChineseCollectivisminDailyLife··285.1Family···········································································································285.2Friendship······································································································315.3Face···············································································································32ChapterSixTheRoot-causesofAmericanIndividualismandChineseCollectivism······························································································356.1TheInfluencesofReligionandPhilosophy···················································356.2TheInfluencesofHistoryandPopulation·····················································366.3TheInfluencesofGeographyandEconomy··················································37ChapterSevenConclusion··················································································40Bibliography········································································································43VIListofTablesTable1RankingofFortyCountriesorRegionsonIndividualismandCollectivism··································································································7Table2CulturaldimensionScoresofindividualismforTenCountriesorRegions······················································································································8Table3ComparisonofIndividualisminAmericaandCollectivisminChina·····20Table4ComparisonofAmericanIndividualismandChineseCollectivisminWorkingGroups··························································································26Table5AListofChineseandEnglishTermsofKinshipAddress·······················30Table6ComparisonofAmericanIndividualismandChineseCollectivisminDailyLife····································································································34Table7TheRoot-causesofAmericanIndividualismandChineseCollectivism·39VIIAcknowledgmentsIwouldliketoexpressmyappreciationtoanumberofpeoplewhohaveaidedmyworkonthisthesis.Firstofall,IamgracefultomysupervisorProfessorPan,whosecarefulinstructionandencouragementhavebeenessentialtorealizationofthisthesis.Hehasofferedmepreciousadvice,enlighteningsuggestionandsincereencouragementwheneverIamindifficulty.Heisespeciallygenerousinprovidingvaluablereferences.Withouthisencouragementandsupport,Icouldneverhavepickedupsuchachallengingtopic.ThethesiscouldnothavebeenwrittenwithoutthehelpofProfessorPan,fromwhoselectureIbecameinterestedinAmericanStudyandthetopicofculturalelement.SpecialthanksalsogotoassociateProfessorWangYulan，whohasalwaysbeenpatientandenthusiasticinofferingmyintellectualinstructioninAmericanHistoryaswellaspersonalguidance.Iamgratefultoalltheprofessorswhohaveguidedmethroughmypostgraduateeducation;theirdiligentteachinghasmademypostgraduateexperiencearewardingone.Ihavelearnedalotfromtheirlectures,includinghowtodoaresearchandhowtobeaperson.FinallyIwouldexpressmyheart–feltgratitudetomybelovedfamily，whoseloveandsupporthasenabledmetoovercomenumerousdifficultiesinthisendeavor.Andmywarmthanksarealsoduetomypostgraduatefriends,withwhomheateddiscussionshavebeenofgreathelpandpleasure.Needlesstosay,I’minresponsibleforallpossiblemistakesanderrors,orinadequaciesinthethesis.VIIIChapterOneIntroduction1.1TheIndividualism-CollectivismDichotomyAftertheworldenteredthenewmillennium,globalizationhasacceleratedtheflowofculturalcommunications.Butglobalizationisalsoatwo-edgedsword.Thenegativesideofitistheincreasedchanceofconflictsinculturalexchanges.JustasSamuelP.Huntingtonobserved,“ThepeopleofdifferentcivilizationshavedifferentviewsontherelationsbetweenGodandman,theindividualandthegroup,thecitizenandthestate,parentsandchildren,husbandandwife,libertyandauthority,equalityandhierarchy.Thesedifferencesaretheproductofcenturies.Theywillnotsoondisappear.”(Huntington,1993:3)GeertHofstedementioned,“Cultureismoreoftenasourceofconflictthanofsynergy.Culturaldifferencesareanuisanceatbestandoftenadisaster."(Hofstede,1993:91)MutualimpactsbetweentheEasternandWesternculturesarebeginningtoberecognizedasafundamentalforcedirectingtheinternationallifepattern.Interculturalcommunicationisessentiallyasocialprocessandvaluessuchasindividualismandcollectivismplayanimportantroleinit.Theindividualism-collectivismdichotomyisanimportantelementtounderstandtheWesternandEasterncultures,becauseittellsamajordifferencebetweenthetwocultures.Theindividualism-collectivismdichotomyhasbeenwidelyusedtoexplainculturaldifferencesinbehaviors.Hofstededefinesindividualismandcollectivismasfollows:“Individualismpertainstosocietiesinwhichthetiesbetweenindividualsareloose:Everyoneisexpectedtolookafterhimselforherselfandhisorherimmediatefamily.Collectivismasitsoppositepertainstosocietiesinwhichpeoplefrombirthonwardsareintegratedintostrongcohesivein-groups,whichthroughoutpeople’slifetimecontinuetoprotecttheminexchangeforunquestioningloyalty.”(Hofstede,1991:51)Collectivismandindividualismactuallyactasshapersofsocietyandaffectsocialinteractionsandcommunications.AstheprinciplesunderlyingindividualismandcollectivismbetweentheWestandEastareentirelydifferent,thecommunicationpatternsandstylesbetweenthetwosidesarealsoentirelydifferent.Alackofawarenessandmisinformationarethecausesofmanycross-culturalconflicts.Thereforeanunderstandingoftheindividualismorcollectivismofanotherculturehelpstopredictthebehaviorsofpeoplefromitandthenenablepeopletodecideandadjusttheirapproachtoensureasuccessfulinterculturalcommunication.11.2ReviewofLiteratureIntheWest,manyexpertshaveexploredthefieldofindividualism-collectivismdichotomyandhavemadealotofachievements.Theirresearcheshaveestablishedthetheoreticalfoundationinthisfield.In1960KluckhohnsandStrodtbeckpublishedtheirVariationinValueOrientations.Intheirschemethereisonlyonecategoryforsocialrelationships,whichtheydivideintothreebasicvalues:hierarchy,group,andindividual.Theymentionedindividualvaluesversusgroupvalues.GeertHofstede’sworkwasoneoftheearliestattemptstouseextensivestatisticaldatatoexamineculturalvalues.In1980HofstedepublishedabookentitledCulture’sConsequences:InternationalDifferencesinWorkRelatedValues,whichtakesadifferentapproachtoanalyzingculturaldifferencesinvaluesfromKluckhohn’s.Ratherthancategorizingvalues,hebeganbyconductingopinionsurveysofworkersincompaniesaroundtheworld.Hethenusedstatisticalmethodstoanalyzetheresponsestothesurveys.Aftercarefulanalysis,Hofstedeidentifiedfourpairsofcontrastingvalues:individualismversuscollectivism,largeandsmallpowerdistances,masculinityversusfemininity,strongandweakuncertaintyavoidance.Hisresearchingresultsyieldedaclearpictureofwhatwasvaluedineachculture.InHofstede’sresearchindividualismversuscollectivismisroughlythesameasindividualvaluesversusgroupvaluesofKluckhohnsandStrodtbeck.AlthoughHofstedeisoftengivencreditforinvestigatingtheconceptsofindividualismandcollectivism,heisnottheonlyscholarwhohasresearchedthesecrucialinterculturaldimensions.Triandis,Samovarandetc.alsohaveresearchedtheseconcepts.Triandis,forexample,hasfocusedonindividualism-collectivismtohaveanentirecross-culturalresearch.In1990hepublishedhisCross-CulturalStudiesofIndividualismandCollectivisminwhichheofferedanexcellentsummaryofindividualismandcollectivism,andestimatedthat“about70%ofthepopulationoftheworldlivesincollectivecultures”(Triandis,1990:48)Afterthat,heandVassilioucollecteddatafrominterviews,observations,questionnairesandtests,anddidexperimentstoobtainsomeimpressionoftheculturaldifferencesbetweenGreeceandtheUS.SamovarL.A.in1998publishedCommunicationBetweenCulture,inwhichheusedHofstede’svaluedimensions—individualismandcollectivismtoexploreculturaldiversityinperceptionandmentionedthatindividualismandcollectivismarelearnedthroughthefamily,whichteacheschildrenwhomtheymustobeyandwhothedominantfiguresareintheirlives.Hiniker(1999)inhisresearchfoundthatinstudiesofforcedcomplianceChinesesubjects2showmuchcompliancebutlittleattitudechange.InChinamanyscholars,suchasPanZhangdang,JiaYuxinandFengQididsomeresearchesinthisfield.Panandhiscolleagues’studydiddeepresearchandgaveamoreconcreteframeworkonculturaldifferencesbetweentheUSAandChina.JiaYuxinanalyzedinterpersonalrelationshipsandinterculturalcommunicationsofEastandWestthroughtheperspectiveofindividualismandcollectivism.FengQifromHongKongBaptistUniversityanalyzedtheinfluenceofculturalindividualism-collectivismonHongKongpeople’sstylesofacquiringinformation.WhenweuseHofstede’sworkasourtheoreticalframework,wealsoexaminethefindingsofothers.Afterprobingintoforeignanddomesticresearches,wecanfindthatfewstudieshavebeendoneonthespecificstudyofthecontrastbetweenAmericanindividualismandChinesecollectivism,andtheroot-causesoftheirdifferences.1.3HypothesisWhatiscollectivismandindividualism?WhatkindofsocietyisChina’ssociety?HowaboutAmerica?Whataretheroot-causesofthesedifferences?ThesearethequestionsItrytoanswerinthisthesis.MyhypothesisisthattheChinesesocietyislargelyacollectivisticoneandtheAmericansocietymainlyanindividualisticonewiththeirrespectivecharacteristics.TherearesignificantdifferencesbetweenAmericanindividualismandChinesecollectivismshowninworkinggroupsandindailylife.Individualismandcollectivismhavetheirnegativesideswhentheygotoextremes.ThedifferencesbetweenAmericanindividualismandChinesecollectivismaredeeplyrootedinbothcountries’religionandphilosophy,historyandpopulation,geographyandeconomy.BasedonHofstede’sindividualism-collectivismtheory,throughacomparativestudy,thisthesisa