Individualism–Collectivism Scale

What it measures

Measures four dimensions of individualism-collectivism by distinguishing horizontal (equal status) from vertical (hierarchical) orientations. Extends Hofstede's binary I-C dimension. Consumers high in collectivism are more responsive to group-appeal advertising, social proof, and family-oriented brand communications; individualists prefer uniqueness and personal benefit appeals.

Response format

Likert (1–9, never to always)

Scale items

Horizontal Individualism — unique self, equality valued (Likert 1–9, never to always)

• I'd rather depend on myself than others.
• I rely on myself most of the time; I rarely rely on others.
• I often do my own thing.
• My personal identity, independent of others, is very important to me.
• It is important that I do my job better than others. (HV — move to vertical)
• I am a unique individual.
• I enjoy being unique and different from others in many ways.
• I like my privacy.

Vertical Individualism — unique self, hierarchy and competition valued (Likert 1–9)

• It is important that I do my job better than others.
• Winning is everything.
• Competition is the law of nature.
• When another person does better than I do, I get tense and aroused.
• Without competition, it is not possible to have a good society.
• It annoys me when other people perform better than I do.
• I want to be the best in my field.
• I enjoy working in situations involving competition with others.

Horizontal Collectivism — group self, equality valued (Likert 1–9)

• The well-being of my co-workers is important to me.
• If a co-worker gets a prize, I would feel proud.
• I feel good when I cooperate with others.
• To me, pleasure is spending time with others.
• I like sharing little things with my neighbours.
• I feel that my fate is intertwined with the fate of those around me.
• I like working in groups rather than alone.
• I like cooperating with others.

Vertical Collectivism — group self, hierarchy and duty valued (Likert 1–9)

• I would sacrifice an activity that I enjoy very much if my family did not approve of it.
• I would do what would please my family, even if I detested that activity.
• It is important to me that I respect the decisions made by my groups.
• I often do 'my own thing' and others in my group don't understand me. (R)
• I usually sacrifice my self-interest for the benefit of my group.
• I hate to disagree with others in my group.
• I would sacrifice my personal interests for the sake of the group.
• We should keep our aging parents with us at home.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Four subscale scores. Widely used to measure individual-level cultural values rather than country-level scores. Triandis's four-dimensional model is theoretically richer than Hofstede's single I-C dimension.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Triandis, H.C., & Gelfand, M.J. (1998). Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 118–128.

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