Freakonomics Radiois produced by Stitcher and Renbud Radio. Although the concept of an individual may seem straightforward, there are many ways of understanding it, both in theory and in practice. When youre trying to understand the nature of something, an outside view can be extremely helpful. Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, they show that economics is . For instance: According to the 6-D Model of National Culture that weve been talking about, the U.S. is the most individualistic nation on earth. The U.S. patent database goes back into the 18th century and what a number of studies in economics as well as work in my lab has shown is that openness to other people so, trust in strangers, an inclination towards individualism, a desire to stand out, to be the smartest guy in the room fosters more rapid innovation because people are more likely to exchange ideas, theyre more interested in distinguishing themselves. Tightness may create compliance; but looseness can drive innovation and creativity. Neal sees a strong connection between U.S. masculinity and our appetite for work. HOFSTEDE: You have a democracy. Chinese, in that respect, are very like the Americans. How much should we attribute that success to these very same factors that create chaos on other dimensions? He wrote a paper about it. We even walk faster. There is a strong desire to be more feminine. Thats the cross-cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand. HOFSTEDE: In an individualistic society, a person is like an atom in a gas. GELFAND: This has always been the big question, that with the internet and globalization were going to become more similar. HENRICH: We dont like people telling us what to do. Freaknomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything is the book for readers who run screaming at the thought of cracking open a book with the word "economics" in the title. This individualism has produced tremendous forward progress and entrepreneurial energy. That, again, is the American culture scholar Joe Henrich. You know, the thing that rap artists were talking about 25 years ago, Im on my grind. Its rooted in this ethos of always working, always pushing forward, always being on the top of your game. DUBNER: What problem was he, and later you, trying to solve by doing this work? In the Germanic world, we have systems, which means that nothing stands alone. Heres another culture metaphor another watery one from the Dutch culture scholar Gert Jan Hofstede. According to a decades-long research project, the U.S. is not only the most individualistic country on earth; we're also high on indulgence, short-term thinking, and masculinity (but low on "uncertainty avoidance," if . 1, the most individualistic country in the world, 91 out of 100 on the Hofstede scale of individualism. But it can make life harder for the millions of Americans who arent so entrepreneurial, or rugged, or individualistic. So looking decisive, muscular, active or if youre a woman, sexy that makes you more status-worthy. The book takes the form of six chapters. HENRICH: Im a researcher who tries to apply evolutionary theory to understand human behavior and human psychology and particularly culture. We need to change our practices. Michele Gelfand has another example of how culture shapes perception. HOFSTEDE: This is not about a homogenous soup, but its about the power of the millions versus the individual and the power of ostracism. This does not mean that no one in a loose culture, like the U.S., is stigmatized or mistreated. Im a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University. GELFAND: And it caused a real international crisis because the Singapore government gave him what was then classic punishment, which was caning. Its like, Oh, my gosh, that is so amazing. I was feeling like I have to tell that to my kids as a good parent, training my kids to be vertical and individualistic. HENRICH: They are self-enhancing, which means they try to promote their attributes. You might think that someone who studies cross-cultural psychology also grew up abroad, or at least in some big city with a melting-pot vibe. The five loosest countries according to this analysis were Ukraine, Estonia, Hungary, Israel, and the Netherlands. We can think about extraordinarily loose contexts like Tesla or Uber that probably need a little more structure. We developed these linguistic dictionaries to analyze language reflective of tight and loose, in newspapers and books, tight words like restrain, comply, adhere, enforce, as compared to words like allow and leeway, flexibility, empower. It was: And your culture, your American culture, is very different. At this point, we should probably define terms. This suggests that every time a social scientist runs an experiment whose research subjects are WEIRD thats capital-letter WEIRD the results of that experiment may be meaningful in the U.S. and some other places, but quite likely not in others. OLIVER: When was that moment when America became the most American America it could possibly be? thats always there. OLIVER: Baseballs were hit from the deck of a warship from a needlessly inflatable batting cage. data, gathered in the late 60s and early 70s. But one has arrows going out and one in? You're stuck in a metal tube with hundreds of strangers (and strange smells), defying gravity and racing through the sky. In an individualistic society, depending on how the mood is, you can get very different developments. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Part of the Freakonomics Series) by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J . This is the flip side of the idea we started out with in this episode that is, why its hard for the U.S. to simply import successful policies from elsewhere. Hannah GADSBY: Have you ever noticed how Americans are not stupid? Latin countries tend to be more collectivistic, especially Spain and Portugal not so much Italy and France. And in a restrained society, theres going to be suicide. Follow. But then the experimenters confederates come in. According to a decades-long research project, the U.S. is not only the most individualistic country on earth; we're also high on indulgence, short-term thinking, and masculinity (but low on "uncertainty avoidance," if that makes you feel better). GELFAND: Exactly. DUBNER: So does all the data come from workplace interviews essentially of white-collar and pink-collar workers, or does it go broader than that? We should be nice to one another. But when push comes to shove, most of the time it doesnt go that way. You want to know where you stand which is, for instance, what diplomats know very well. Ultimatum Game Bargaining Among the Machiguenga of the Peruvian Amazon, U.S. Student Tells of Pain Of His Caning In Singapore, Singapores Relations With U.S. They want to be happy. As for the U.S., Gelfand says the U.S. is not only loose but getting progressively looser. So after we ran that first project, we redid the entire project, and we took concerns like the one Francisco had. "Information is a beacon, a cudgel, an olive branch, a deterrent--all depending on who wields it and how.". Thats Joe Henrich, a professor of evolutionary biology at Harvard; hes also a scholar of psychology, economics, and anthropology. But then she took a semester abroad, to London. . And if there are crumbs in the sheets, theyll get in your pajamas. In the real world, Feldman learned to settle for less than 95 percent. Like, you can buy them on the internet. It is that the wealth comes first, and the individualism follows. Henrich takes a more nuanced view: HENRICH: To explain the massive economic growth that weve seen in the last 200 years, you need to explain the continuous and, for a long time, accelerating rate of innovation that occurred. It suggests that as in most things in life balance is desirable. Dubner speaks with Nobel laureates and provocateurs, intellectuals and entrepreneurs, and various other underachievers. And how are we defining culture? Now, keep in mind this was London, English-speaking London not Uzbekistan or Botswana, even Mexico. So, today on Freakonomics Radio: can we really build a model that explains why the American psyche is so unusual? GELFAND: I grew up on Long Island. And this dynamic leads to a lot of fighting for the sake of fighting. And it got the attention of President Clinton: Bill CLINTON: Its the first Ive heard of it, Ill look into it. Because for all the so-called globalization of the past half-century or so, the U.S. still differs from other countries in many ways. Hence the term, the changing same. I think there are historical moments that are transcendent. But if you look 100 years ago and you look at the cultural map of the world, you can read writers from different countries, you will see that there is astonishing continuity. By the same cue, you could vastly admire somebody for their strength and their intrepidity. HOFSTEDE: Well, if you want an honest answer, I think mainly our own curiosity. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. He considered a rate between 80 and 90 percent . Good on you, I say. We are supremely WEIRD. Im like, Were going to go to Singapore if you people dont behave.. According to a decades-long research project, the U.S. is not only the most individualistic country on earth; we're also high on indulgence, short-term thinking, and masculinity (but low on "uncertainty avoidance," if that makes you feel better). Consider the prominent Muppets Bert and Ernie. Youre going to be shut down. But if you want to talk about humans, Homo sapiens, then you have a generalization problem. Do you know what you are? GELFAND: I also teach negotiation. Thats my idea. His ideas, along with others, are credited with . And they often dont even realize theyre being acted upon. But everybody, of course, instinctively feels and should feel that their country, or whatever their tribe is, is the best in the world. (but low on "uncertainty avoidance," if that makes you feel better) Coming up, how Americas creative looseness has produced a strange, global effect: HENRICH: The scientific discipline of psychology is dominated by Americans. By this time, Hofstede the Elder had already gotten a Ph.D. in social science. If youre a constrained sort of person, you wont go far in the U.S. Stephen DUBNER: Im curious whether youve ever been accused of political incorrectness in your study of national cultures. No difference, that is, between tight and loose cultures. HOFSTEDE: Which doesnt mean egoism, but it could go that way. HOFSTEDE: You could say these six dimensions of culture, they are perimeters to our sociality. This paper focuses on the construction of racial identity online through the mediating influences of popular culture, old media, weblogs, and Internet users. GELFAND: My own sweet Portuguese water dog, Pepper, I mean, that dog is just gigantic. The same experiment was done in other, non-WEIRD countries, like Ghana and Zimbabwe. GELFAND: Apparently over 50 percent of cats and dogs in the U.S. are obese. Freakonomics has since grown up into a media company, complete with documentary, radio show, and blog. And life is an adventure. HOFSTEDE: They will look at them if they admire them, but they will look away if theyre afraid. GELFAND: Having more adaptability, more innovation. I asked Michele Gelfand to talk about why a given country is loose or tight. You might want to change, but if you get ostracized, its very difficult to persist. And: In present-day Scandinavia levels of individualism would thus have been significantly higher had emigration not occurred.. Culturally maybe more than anything! Hes horrified by my dishwasher-loading behavior. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. This is where he combines all his academic interests: not just economics and psychology, but also anthropology and evolutionary biology. And I was interested in this, and I thought maybe it would tell us something about an innate human psychology for reciprocity or something like that. You could ask people, What do you like to eat? The more collectivistic they are, the more likely they are to talk about their grandmother and what she made, and theyre less likely to start entirely on their own diet. Historically, politically, and yes culturally. And other cultures are more loose. This is the dimension based on data from the World Values Survey. Caning as in a spanking, basically, on the bare buttocks, with a half-inch-thick rattan cane. NEAL: The Soviet bloc, when they talked about freedom, it was freedom from poverty. And you know who else had that skill set? Rich. We look at how these traits affect our daily lives and why we couldnt change them even if we wanted to. GELFAND: Were trained from a very early age not just to be independent, but to be better. Scholars in this realm have a general agreement on what culture is and what its not. According to the Pew Research Center, 80 percent of Americans claim to believe in God, 55 percent pray at least daily, and 36 percent attend a religious service at least once a week. On a certain level, this is obvious: These are cultures that have norms and traditions that have endured for centuries. So how much would you offer? And theres large differences around the world, for example, on how much cultures are exposed to chronic threat. In Germany, for instance, labor unions often have a representative on company boards, which can radically change the dynamic between companies and employees. We are acronymically WEIRD. Allen Lane 20, pp304. What is culture? The American model is among the most successful and envied models in the history of the world. Mobility also produces looseness, because its harder to agree upon any norm. Meaning, if you grew up in someplace like the U.S., when you look at an image youre more likely to pay attention to whats in the foreground, in the center. So the general rules of a loose or tight culture may not be consistently applied to all populations. They tend to veer tighter on our measures than places on the coast. 6 Pages. But theres something else to be said about American culture. HOFSTEDE: In an individualistic society, a person is like an atom in a gas. The answer to that is usually: no, you cant. GELFAND: And it was fascinating because when people were wearing their normal face, there was no difference. When Hofstede the Elder went to work for I.B.M., he got involved with these surveys. Both are long-term oriented, so they see a lot of context around things. GELFAND: In cross-cultural psychology, we study how ecological and historical factors cause the evolution of differences. It could give you new occasions to gain status in an unexpected way. Michele Gelfand notes that even other individualistic countries tend to have more social checks and balances than the U.S. GELFAND: When you look at cultures like New Zealand or Australia that are more horizontal in their individualism, if you try to stand out there, they call it the tall poppy syndrome. President Bush had framed these negotiations as going an extra mile for peace.. She argues that both styles have their upsides and their downsides. Wed rather think about solutions temporarily rather than as, this might take some time. It means that we need to attract different types of people to an organization. What was in these surveys? HOFSTEDE: Okay, well, dont. And that really can help explain some variation not all, but some variation in norms and values. GADSBY: Have you ever noticed how Americans are not stupid? We also realize that were a culture in distress in many, many, many ways. Apparently over 50 percent of cats and dogs in the U.S. are obese. Out into the ocean where they were caught by people on jet skis. Heres how it works. we're looking out for the best interest of our individual pursuits. Michele Gelfand again: GELFAND: De Tocqueville noticed this about Americans, that we are a time is money country. So the scientific discipline of psychology is dominated by Americans. I must be American. If it were, Afghanistan and Venezuela, even Iran might be U.S.-style democracies by now. Q uite soon after the Freakonomics guys, Stephen J Dubner and Steven D Levitt, walk into their office on New York's Upper West Side for our interview, the scene resolves itself into the kind of . Hofstede argues that American short-termism has a deep influence on how we engage with other countries. The Pros and Cons of America's (Extreme) Individualism (Replay) According to a decades-long research project, the U.S. is not only the most individualistic country on earth; we're also high on indulgence, short-term thinking, and masculinity (but low on "uncertainty avoidance," if that makes you feel better). And in one condition, I had them wearing these fake facial warts. Freakonomics Radiois produced by Stitcher and Renbud Radio. Even Gert Jan Hofstede suggests that his model shouldnt be seen as overly deterministic. Go out there and make it happen. GELFAND: Exactly. There were a number of low offers of 15 percent, which didnt get rejected. DUBNER: Describe for me your father and his work, and how it became a family business. As an Amazon Associate, Freakonomics may earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through links on this site. But the Chinese, even rich, will be a lot more collectivistic and a lot more long-term-oriented than the Americans. The study of culture is a family business for Hofstede. So its hard to simply transplant another countrys model for education or healthcare, no matter how well it might seem to fit. Theyll say, The Scandinavians have great childcare and family-leave policies. Or theyll say, China has built more high-speed rail in the past few years than the U.S. has even thought about. So, naturally, the next question is: cant the U.S. just borrow these Scandinavian and Chinese and German ideas and slap them on top of the American way of doing things? Consistently applied to all populations what to do the study of culture is and what its not first... Economics, and the Netherlands same experiment was done in other, non-WEIRD countries like. Progress and entrepreneurial energy engage with other countries people dont behave and what its not with other countries in ways. These are cultures that have norms and Values take some time and family-leave policies affect... 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Of human evolutionary biology various other underachievers leads to a lot more long-term-oriented than the U.S. still from!

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