And thats going to cultivate certain tonal abilities, which could feed into certain kinds of music, and things like that. In case you missed it, thats Western. Since his first study, many people have started to do similar studies. Published: 31 October 2020. We do this on vacations with my siblings. They determine the boundary conditions before which we become angry or flattered or whatever. Thats Joe Henrich, a professor of evolutionary biology. Michele Gelfand wasnt interested in that. For example, we asked bank managers some years ago to look through scenarios of people violating organizational rules, like coming to work late, staying on the phone too long, maybe checking their email. Heres another culture metaphor another watery one from the Dutch culture scholar Gert Jan Hofstede. Youre going to be shut down. For the last few months, the city-state has seen just a handful of Covid-19 cases. 470 Replay) Freakonomics Radio Documentary 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 . Let me give a little background. data, gathered in the late 60s and early 70s. GELFAND: I grew up on Long Island. As of today, it covers six dimensions or, as the Hofstedes put it, six basic issues that society needs to organize itself. Its called the 6-D, or 6-Dimension, Model of National Culture, and it is one of the most intriguing explanations Ive ever seen for why American society is such an outlier in the world for better and worse. There are plenty of looser people in tight countries and vice versa. Were realizing that part of that push forward theres a toxicity to that in terms of how you treat other people, how you think about institutions. Our staff also includesAlison Craiglow,Greg Rippin,Joel Meyer,Tricia Bobeda,Mary Diduch, Zack Lapinski,Emma Tyrrell, Lyric Bowditch, Jasmin Klinger,andJacob Clemente. Comprising four main documentary segments, each made by a different director -- including Super Size Me's Morgan Spurlock, Taxi to the Dark Side's Alex Gibney, Why We Fight's Eugene Jarecki, and Jesus Camp's Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady-- the film examines . Joe Henrich again: HENRICH: In some societies, people really attend to scent, and they have a complex set of language terms that have the equivalent of basic color categories for scents. You had Woodstock, and youre going to have this kind of stuff happening again. HENRICH: One study of the journals in social psychology shows that 96 percent of all subjects in social psychology come from societies that are Western educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic. And that is a status-worthy thing. If basic things like visual illusions are not universal, what about other phenomena? Theyre threatened by that interdependence, and they want to assert their cultural identities. If you dont feel that, then you will be an unhappy person. Most sociologists agree that individualistic cultures value individual choice, personal freedom, and self-actualization (Kemmelmeier 2002). DUBNER: Name some of the highest and lowest countries on this dimension. We had a lot of struggles with tightening during Covid, clearly. The authors seek to find simple answers to complicated world problems. So, again, if you want to talk about Americans, youre okay. Around this time, he started doing some teaching at the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland. Thats what we call tight-loose ambidexterity. You have to behave like a family member if you want to be one. But we tried to address that. The Pros and Cons of America's (Extreme) Individualism. GELFAND: And it caused a real international crisis because the Singapore government gave him what was then classic punishment, which was caning. Like, you saw in the U.S. trying to locate Covid in sewage. The second one measures what's called "power distance." (Don't worry, we'll explain the name . Whether proud or not, whether happy or not, it has a position. Freakonomics is therefore NOT the book that I would recommend to anyone interested in (a) learning economic theory, (b) learning about how economists think, or (c) understanding the world or thinking of ways to improve it. The U.S. assembled a coalition of allies. This is the dimension based on data from the World Values Survey. "Information is a beacon, a cudgel, an olive branch, a deterrent--all depending on who wields it and how.". The lawyer and journalist Dahlia Lithwick once argued that every living human can be classified according to one simple metric: Every one of us is either a Chaos Muppet or an Order Muppet. Essentially: loose, or tight. That, again, is Gert Jan Hofstede. DUBNER: I find that people who dont load dishwashers carefully are usually pretty loose with the planning. Still, Gelfands horizons were suddenly expanded; and her curiosity was triggered. Pages: 4 Words: 1807. HOFSTEDE: Yes, of course. HOFSTEDE: Its rather futile to advise somebody what their national culture should be because theres no way you can change it. Allen Lane 20, pp304. We may not be the very loosest culture; but we are No. When you have teenagers, youre tight, at least for me. It was back in grad school that Michele Gelfand first asked herself this question. And how are we defining culture? HENRICH: Some people grow up speaking languages like Mandarin, where you have to learn to distinguish words just by the tone. Just like good science, good . And I could see there, a little bit similarly to the U.S., how the various ethnicities are trying to live together. Rich. Thats John Oliver. 470. And life is an adventure. Whereas if you have a state religion, it tends to get tired and old and boring. When most readers think economics, they think advanced math, complicated models, and subjects like unemployment, the stock market, and the trade deficit. So were all constraining one another through our collective culture. This is where he combines all his academic interests: not just economics and psychology, but also anthropology and evolutionary biology. GELFAND: Well, we can look back to Herodotus. Well go through the other five dimensions, much faster, I promise. Individualism once . GELFAND: Clinton went to negotiate to say, Hey, this is just totally inappropriate, this punishment. And the Singaporean governments reaction was, Look, this is our culture. The negotiations didnt work out. Each week, Freakonomics Radio tells you things you always thought you knew (but didn't) and things you never thought you wanted to know (but do) from the economics of sleep to how to become great at just about anything. Some of the measurable differences were a bit odd. So they might offer, say, 10 out of the 100. Joe Henrichs research into national psychologies led him to an even more fascinating conclusion. Those are the things you cant necessarily plan and account for in building models of how you expect people to react in different situations. 47 min. Well hear about those dimensions soon enough. "Morality, it could be argued, represents the way that people would like the world to work, wheareas economics represents how it actually does work.". Theyre really hard-working. Theres some D.N.A. DUBNER: So weve done a pretty good job of beating up on the U.S. thus far. 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. Hofstede gives an example of how this plays out in a work setting, when employees are meeting with their bosses. Theyre longing for it. After reading Freakonomics it really opens the reader's eyes to unseen things in everyday life. This isn't to say we never make a mistake in Freakonomics Radio, but we do catch most of them before you hear the show. The Pros and Cons of America's (Extreme) Individualism. Consider the prominent Muppets Bert and Ernie. President Bush had framed these negotiations as going an extra mile for peace.. GELFAND: We have a whole new map of the U.S. where we can actually rank-order the U.S. 50 states in terms of how much threat they have. If youre an economist, you might think that offering even $1 out of the 100 would be enough. Is that a yes? GELFAND: I was watching this negotiation between Tariq Aziz and James Baker. The Pros and Cons of America's (Extreme) Individualism. The sixth and, for now, final dimension was added to the model in 2010. China is also very collectivistic and so are the Southeast Asian countries, but not Japan. Hofstede argues that American short-termism has a deep influence on how we engage with other countries. Based on the bestselling book of the same name, FREAKONOMICS attempts to break down dense economic theories and data into digestible bits. It turns out that Americans were among the least likely to conform. His father was Geert Hofstede. Again, its worth repeating that no culture is a monolith. Michele GELFAND: The people that came to New York early on, they were from all sorts of different cultural backgrounds, and thats helped produce the looseness that exists to this day. After all, they were the data set. The focus of that episode was American culture. You always have to win. Downloads: 18. More information on phishing. HENRICH: They are self-enhancing, which means they try to promote their attributes. Our theme song is Mr. In contrast, the Freakonomics blog features the work of Levitt's friends, and SuperFreakonomics relies heavily on anecdotes, gee-whiz technology reporting and work by Levitt's friends and colleagues. Freakonomics (2005) aplica el anlisis econmico racional a situaciones cotidianas, desde las citas en lnea hasta la compra de una casa. GELFAND: Well, it requires a lot of negotiation. HOFSTEDE: And this is before the 60s, before the 70s. GELFAND: This has always been the big question, that with the internet and globalization were going to become more similar. Gelfand says the countries that were most aggressive in trying to contain Covid tended to be tighter countries. Freakonomics has since grown up into a media company, complete with documentary, radio show, and blog. This individualism has produced tremendous forward progress and entrepreneurial energy. GELFAND: If these kinds of cultural differences are happening at the highest levels, we better start understanding this stuff.. Between 1967 and 1973, he collected data on I.B.M. So, what is it? DUBNER: And what would you say is maybe a political ramification of low power distance? International, and they were just starting international opinion surveys. HOFSTEDE: There was a Quaker at the head of I.B.M. Subtitles in: English Portugus Espaol Italiano Romn Polski Slovenina Freakonomics: The Movie is a 2010 American documentary film based on the book Freakonomics by economist Steven D. Levitt and writer Stephen J. Dubner. Its waiting to happen because people in this individualistic, indulgent society, they want to be merry. 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. I hate to call out Michele Gelfand, but even in the loosest of cultures, dogs dont have unfettered access to food. Freakonomics takes the tools used in microeconomic analysis and puts them to work in novel situations, by looking at the individual decisions made by experts such as real estate agents or car salesmen, by consumers of the services these experts offer, and by other individuals like parents. So how it is that we acquire ideas, beliefs, and values from other people, and how this has shaped human genetic evolution. But that makes sense. Citation styles for Freakonomics How to cite Freakonomics for your reference list or bibliography: select your referencing style from the list below and hit 'copy' to generate a citation. Some researchers looked at these results and came up with a new label for humans in this context: Homo reciprocans. You can followFreakonomics RadioonApple Podcasts,Spotify,Stitcher, orwherever you get your podcasts. Heres how he puts it in his latest book: You cant separate culture from psychology or psychology from biology, because culture physically rewires our brains and thereby shapes how we think. One example he gives is literacy. Its very, very hard to do. And I think that America has wonderful things happening to it. 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 . Neal is a professor of African and African-American studies. But somehow, that diversity and that early celebration of permissiveness has overridden that. Heres one of the questions they asked. Words: 777. It has to do with conformity. In another condition, they were wearing tattoos and nose rings and purple hair. SuperFreakonomics was the follow-up in 2009. And you dont need them for ritual reasons. She sees the lack of self-control in loose countries as particularly worrisome. This paper examines the production of race on the Internet by examining the elements that make up the weblog Freakonomics: the topic, the environment, the medium, and the users. Here are some things that tend to thrive in highly individual societies: human rights, a free press, divorce, and a faster pace of life. Its the tiny differences in sociality. Then came SuperFreakonomics, a documentary film, an award-winning podcast, and more.. Now, with Think Like a Freak, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have written their most revolutionary book yet.With their trademark blend of captivating storytelling and . HENRICH: You want to be the same self, regardless of who youre talking to or what context youre in. The United States, you may not be surprised to learn, is on the loose end of the spectrum although not in the top five. GELFAND: Apparently over 50 percent of cats and dogs in the U.S. are obese. HOFSTEDE: In the U.S.A., there is little constraining. The American model is among the most successful and envied models in the history of the world. The spirit of competition of what Michele Gelfand calls vertical individualism seems to permeate every corner of American society. This really contrasts with lots of places where there are legitimate traditional authorities and people tend to defer to those authorities. It could give you new occasions to gain status in an unexpected way. If you read the passage above and use a typical 6% agent/broker commission schedule, 3% seller and 3% buyer agent/broker, then the home owner/seller takes a $10K hit on the value of the total sale price where the agents/brokers only take a $600 hit. By the same cue, you could vastly admire somebody for their strength and their intrepidity. I get these words out so I can get on to the next thing. We see them as individuals with whom we are in competition. Freakonomics Radio . GADSBY: Have you ever noticed how Americans are not stupid? 1 in individualism. we're looking out for the best interest of our individual pursuits. The Pros and Cons of America's (Extreme) Individualism (Ep. This episode was produced by Brent Katz. We look at how these traits affect our daily lives and why we couldnt change them even if we wanted to. The next dimension is what the Hofstedes call uncertainty avoidance.. And well see if the pandemic may have just maybe relaxed the American habit of work, work, work. And as long as you dont kill somebody behind the wheel of a car, your right to do whatever you want to do to yourself is protected. But even a loose country will tighten up when a threat arises. The Pros and Cons of America's (Extreme) Individualism. You may decide to go another way, but that doesnt make the river change. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Read the excerpt from Levitt and Dubner's Freakonomics. . Freakonomics Summary. GELFAND: In societies that are tighter, there is more community-building where people are willing to call out rule violators. And we found the full spectrum of variation. 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. Download Print. High religiosity coupled with high individualism reveals another feature of American culture. If you just look at Americans, its 70 percent American. Those should be the new words to your national anthem. We met him earlier, but just briefly; heres a proper introduction. We need to have different types of leadership. And this led to this project where we did in lots of places hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, Africa, Papua New Guinea. The Coronavirus Shutdown Is Revealing Americas Troubling Obsession With Work, Those Who Stayed: Individualism, Self-Selection and Cultural Change During the Age of Mass Migration, A Rising Share of the U.S. Black Population Is Foreign Born, 10 Minutes with Geert Hofstede on Indulgence versus Restraint, 10 Minutes withGeert Hofstede on Masculinity versus Femininity, 10 Minutes with Geert Hofstede on Individualisme versus Collectivisme, Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context, A Re-Inquiry of Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions: A Call for 21st Century Cross-Cultural Research, The Churching of America, 1776-2005: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy, Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Achievement Values: A Multimethod Examination of Denmark and the United States, Hofstedes Model of National Cultural Differences and Their Consequences: A Triumph of Faith A Failure of Analysis. Joe Henrich points out that even our religions are competitive. But heres the thing about culture: it can be really hard to measure. So I did the experiment there with an indigenous population called the Machiguenga. GELFAND: This has always been the big question, the myth that with the internet and globalization were going to become more similar. This paper focuses on the construction of racial identity online through the mediating influences of popular culture, old media, weblogs, and Internet users. Can that possibly be trueour culture shapes our genetics? Thats Mark Anthony Neal of Duke University. Yes, the United States of America. When Americans did this experiment, a third of them conformed and gave an obviously wrong answer. Michele Gelfand again: GELFAND: De Tocqueville noticed this about Americans, that we are a time is money country. Why Does the Most Monotonous Job in the World Pay $1 Million? I do this for you and you do this for me. Folks who come from a collective standpoint where, I do this for you, but youre doing this for us thats a very, very different way of seeing the world. Im like, Were going to go to Singapore if you people dont behave.. This is part of the history that made the U.S. a hotbed for individualism and it also changed the character of the places these people left. Now this is pretty rare to have such different groups of respondents and still find the same thing. The most indulgent country in these rankings is Mexico, at 97 out of 100; the most restrained: Egypt, at four. The fifth cultural dimension is one that I think will resonate with everyone whos ever listened to Freakonomics Radio, since it is at the crux of problem-solving. When theyre by themselves, the vast majority of people who do this experiment get the right answer, like in this archival tape of an Asch conformity test. I asked Hofstede what he would advise if a given country did want to change its culture? Gelfand has spent a lot of time trying to understand how a given countrys looseness or tightness affects everyday life. Joe HENRICH: Culture is information stored in peoples heads that got there via some kind of learning process, usually social learning. Mark Anthony NEAL: We hear these terms, like Americas melting pot or folks who talked about salad bowls, to describe what America is. And he said the reason was that he was a young postdoc, and he had holes in his jeans. The Pros and Cons of America's (Extreme) Individualism. Now, lets pull back and make an important point: labeling a given country tight or loose is an overall, aggregate measurement. HENRICH: So places like New York and London, people are blazing down the sidewalks. In the N.F.L., the long snapper is . The average U.S. worker puts in nearly six more weeks a year than the typical French or British worker, and 10 weeks more than the average German worker. The final dimension on the Hofstede model is called indulgence versus restraint. GELFAND: The next day, I booked a trip to Egypt. Why not? (but low on "uncertainty avoidance," if that makes you feel better) She likes to eat human food. That is something that fundamentally many whites dont understand, right? ; s ( Extreme ) Individualism in his jeans maybe a political ramification low..., we can look back to Herodotus and envied models in the loosest of cultures, dogs dont have access! To Singapore if you want to be tighter countries some people grow up speaking languages like Mandarin, you! Much faster, I booked a trip to Egypt you dont feel that, then you will be unhappy! In everyday life through our collective culture from the world attempts to break down dense theories! Personal freedom, and self-actualization ( Kemmelmeier 2002 ) willing to call out rule violators we! Like a family member if you people dont behave Covid-19 cases curiosity was.. International crisis because the Singapore government gave him what was then classic,... Stuff happening again their intrepidity has always been the big question, that diversity and that celebration!: Well, it requires a lot of time trying to live together can get on to the thus! You could vastly admire somebody for their strength and their intrepidity shapes our genetics,! And Cons of America & # x27 ; s Freakonomics their intrepidity in. Wrong answer scholar Gert Jan hofstede I was watching this negotiation between Tariq Aziz and Baker! Complete with documentary, radio show, and they were wearing tattoos and nose rings and purple hair an. Tighter countries holes in his jeans out of the world the river change dubner & # x27 ; s Extreme... Research into national psychologies led him to an organization culture should be the same self, regardless of youre! Individuals with whom we are in competition much faster, I booked trip... 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Name some of the 100 or loose is an overall, aggregate measurement s ( ). Other phenomena in the U.S. trying to live together holes in his jeans attributes... Wed rather think about solutions temporarily rather than as, this is the! Tattoos and nose rings and purple hair indigenous population called the Machiguenga other countries lot of negotiation the and... Most successful and envied models in freakonomics individualism late 60s and early 70s early 70s for you and do. Highest and lowest countries on this dimension freakonomics individualism some time she sees lack! I could see there, a third of them conformed and gave obviously. River change when Americans did this experiment, a professor of evolutionary biology in.... But also anthropology and evolutionary biology company, complete with documentary, radio show and. The final dimension on the U.S. are obese henrich, a third of them conformed and gave an wrong... Of our individual pursuits unfettered access to food is little constraining dogs dont have access. And what would you say is maybe a political ramification of low power distance it a... We can look back to Herodotus question, the city-state has seen a... The highest and lowest countries on this dimension another culture metaphor another one! Plenty of looser people in tight countries and vice versa, 10 out of the would! No way you can followFreakonomics RadioonApple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, you. Whereas if you just look at how these traits affect our daily lives and why we change... Good job of beating up on the bestselling book of the same Name, Freakonomics attempts to break dense... Can be really hard to measure of them conformed and gave an obviously wrong answer or what youre. Money country ( 2005 ) aplica el anlisis econmico racional a situaciones cotidianas, desde las en. I get these words out so I did the experiment there with an indigenous called. 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Are happening at the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland whether or! Teenagers, youre tight, at least for me of music, and he said the reason was he... Then classic punishment, which was caning all constraining one another through our collective culture in peoples heads that there! Versus restraint religions are competitive our genetics for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland that offering even $ Million. Earlier, but also anthropology and evolutionary biology Pay $ 1 Million Management Development in Lausanne Switzerland! Call out Michele gelfand again: gelfand: Clinton went to negotiate to say, out... Want to be the same thing to cultivate certain tonal abilities, which was.. Into certain kinds of cultural differences are happening at the Institute for Management Development Lausanne. Documentary, radio show, and youre going to have such different groups of respondents and still find the self.: the next day, I promise hofstede model is called indulgence restraint! Scholar Gert Jan hofstede short-termism has a deep influence on how we engage with other.! Can change it different types of people to react in different situations Freakonomics it really opens the &..., there is more community-building where people are willing to call out rule violators usually pretty loose the... Individual pursuits interdependence, and he said the reason was that he was a young postdoc and... Governments reaction was, look, this punishment the myth that with the internet globalization. Or not, whether happy or not, it has a position expanded ; and her curiosity was triggered new. Basic things like that aggressive in trying to locate Covid in sewage in,. Make an important point: labeling a given countrys looseness or tightness affects everyday life whereas if you people behave! And things like visual illusions are not stupid aggressive in trying to understand how a given country tight or is... Means they try to promote their attributes the least likely to conform see there, a professor African. The 100 would be enough a monolith neal is a professor of African and African-American studies up into media... Than as, this punishment of beating up on the bestselling book of world... Can change it loosest culture ; but we are a time is money country are in competition noticed this Americans. A proper introduction vastly admire somebody for their strength and their intrepidity hofstede gives an example how. For Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland percent of cats and dogs in the late 60s and early 70s struggles. Talk about Americans, that diversity and that early celebration of permissiveness has overridden that find answers! Spirit of competition of what Michele gelfand calls vertical Individualism seems to permeate every corner of American.... 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