User:KatieShaffer

Individualist cultures are those in which people are on a whole loosely connected to each other and prefer to be identified as an individual. Self-importance, promotion, and achievement are highly valued. Competition is encouraged more than cooperation. Individualist cultures expect one to act for self-promotion and self-advancement in the job market. There is also competitiveness in social situations,where people are expected to fend for themselves and any sign of assistance (i.e. - getting set-up on a blind date)can be seen as a sign of weakness. Parental approval is helpful to have in situations such as marriage, but not necessary. People in an individualist culture place more importance on their own interests than the interests of other members of the culture.

Individualistic cultures place emphasis on the "I"consciousness. These cultures are very competitive and self-centered, as opposed to the cooperation and loyalty focused values of a collectivist culture. Individualistsvalue their privacy and usually indentify themselves as independent from the group indentity. The JMU campus, for example, is largely individualistic. The faculty, staff, and students of JMU are not necessarily unfriendly or unhelpful towards one another, but each student is competitive for the top grades and academic standing. One will rarely ever witness a college student studying for hours on end in order to help his or her classmate achieve an A on an exam. Overall, individualist cultures emphasize individual goals,independence, privacy, and self-help.