Individualistic Cultures

Abstract

The notion of individualism plays a central role for various domains of economics and moral and political philosophy, including liberalism, existentialism, and anarchism, among others. Individualism has also been the center of different lines of research in social sciences, including the exploration of dimensions defining cultural differences as well as the study of cohort effects (e.g., the individualistic focus of “hipsters,” “millennials,” or “baby boomers”). The present overview discusses how individualism informs individual psychology, along with the social, cognitive, and emotional processes impacting personal attitudes, values, and behavior. We also touch on how individualism has been changing over time and the macro-social factors contributing toward such changes.