Emma Geoghegan

COMM 123

1/24/21

Pathogen Prevalence Predicts

COVID-19 Preventative Measures in Collectivistic Immigrants

Cultural individualism and collectivism are widely accepted, yet under researched

concepts. Hofestede’s (1991) definitions of individualism and collectivism are as follows;

“individualism pertains to societies in which the ties between individuals are loose” assuming an

“every man for themself” attitude and valuing autonomy while “collectivism pertains to societies

in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups'' and are

expected to perform in that in-group with unwavering loyalty in return for acceptance.

According to pathogen theory, collectivism is more common in places with high

pathogen loads because collectivism helps us to keep away from people in other groups who

might have novel pathogens. An empirical study done by Fincher, Thornhill, Murray, and

Schaller “drawing on “worldwide cross-national surveys of individualism/collectivism”

concluded “the regional prevalence of pathogens has a strong positive correlation with cultural

indicators of collectivism and a strong negative correlation with individualism” (Fincher,

Thornhill, Murray, et al., 2008, p. 1279). This theoretical assumption outlines how collectivistic

societies display specific behaviors to keep close to their ingroup and away from outgroups and

can therefore be applied to the hypothesis that those immigrating to America from collectivistic

cultures are more likely to do so than individualistic immigrants due to the correlation of

regional pathogen stress with individualism/collectivism.

 My prediction is that if this is true, collectivistic immigrants are more likely to follow

preventive measures in regards to the recent onset of the global pandemic: COVID-19.

Collectivistic values imply that individuals may act more accordingly with CDC guidelines,

mask wearing, and social distancing requirements than individualists. The rationale is that

pathogen prevalence predicts levels of individualistic/collectivistic behavior, which is supported

by several studies. Therefore, if collectivistic citizens display anti-pathogen preventive measures,

then this behavior will be applied to behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent study

measured individualism/collectivism at an individual level in South Korea over 14 weeks. This

study “revealed that the level of collectivism among respondents were higher after than before

the COVID-19 outbreak” (Na, Kim, et. al., 2021, p. 1). This suggests that there may be an

increase of collectivistic behaviors in correlation with the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This

finding is significant because “the results are consistent with the main premise of the pathogen

stress hypothesis that pathogen-related threats are an ecological foundation of collectivism” (Na,

Kim, et. al., 2021, p. 3). As follows, Koreans and other collectivistic members coming to

America may enforce these collectivistic values in order to prevent COVID-19 among their

in-group members.

In my proposed study, the independent variable is country of origin and the dependent

variable is the level of social distancing. According to Hofstede’s data, the United States is the

most individualistic of 50 countries while countries in Asia are generally categorized as

collectivistic. (Kim, Ken I., et al., 1990, p.180). I suggest having members of the study fill out a

survey using Hofstede’s individualism/collectivism scale. Those scoring high in the 14 items

measuring I-C will be the study sample, with members scoring high in individualism as the

control. The next step is developing an app and installing it on smartphones that will track levels
of social distancing. If my prediction is correct, then those belonging in collectivistic cultures

coming to America are more likely to abide by social distancing, especially from outgroup

members, (i.e., those not belonging to a collectivistic society), in order to avoid the novel

pathogen. This study will prove that pathogen prevalence can not only predict cross-cultural

variability, but more specifically social distancing behaviors of collectivistic immigrants in the

time of COVID-19. Further research can look into collectivistic immigrants' attitudes and

behaviors about other COVID-19 preventive measures, such as mask wearing and vaccines.
 References:

Cashdan, E., & Steele, M. (2013). Pathogen prevalence, group bias, and collectivism in the

standard cross-cultural sample. Human Nature, 24(1), 59-75.

Fincher Corey L,Thornhill Randy, Murray Damian R and Schaller Mark. 2008 Pathogen

prevalence predicts human cross-cultural variability in individualism/collectivism Proc. R. Soc.

B.2751279–1285

Jinkyung Na, Namhee Kim, Hye Won Suk, Eunsoo Choi, Jong An Choi, Joo Hyun Kim, Soolim

Kim, Incheol Choi, Individualism-collectivism during the COVID-19 pandemic: A field study

testing the pathogen stress hypothesis of individualism-collectivism in Korea, Personality and

Individual Differences, Volume 183, 2021, 111127, ISSN 0191-8869,

Kim, Ken I., et al. “Reward Allocations in the United States, Japan, and Korea: A Comparison of

Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures.” The Academy of Management Journal, vol. 33, no. 1,

Academy of Management, 1990, pp. 188–98, https://doi.org/10.2307/256358.