Decades of research have described East Asian cultures as collectivistic, often characterized by ingroup relationships that are harmonious and cooperative. I propose an alternative account of East Asian Collectivism—the Harm-in-Harmony Theory. Specifically, I propose that East Asian culture can be better understood as a tension between high levels of cooperation and competition within groups. The co-existence of cooperation and competition drives competition covert. To cope with covert competition, people in East Asia develop a heightened threat-detection system—ingroup vigilance—a cognitive tendency to perceive ingroup members as hostile and threatening. The Harm-in-Harmony theory provides an alternative account for a number of cross-cultural differences (i.e., East Asians being more responsive and attentive to others) that have previously been explained through harmonious interdependence. This work contributes to a more balanced view of collectivism, revealing its interpersonal tensions in the forms of covert competition and ingroup vigilance.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:columbia.edu/oai:academiccommons.columbia.edu:10.7916/d8-rhbd-bt06 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Liu, Shi |
| Source Sets | Columbia University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Theses |
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