The Dimensions of Culture

Power Distance

the extent to which members of institutions and organizations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally

Social Dependence

the extent to which members of a society are dependent upon others and are obligated to maintain social connections

Gender Roles

the differences in emotional meanings and societal expectations between those born male and those born female

Uncertainty Avoidance

the extent to which members of a society tend to feel threatened by ambiguous and unknown situations

Time Orientation

the extent to which a society fosters pragmatic virtues oriented toward short-term or long-term rewards and obligations

Indulgence

the extent to which societies encourage or discourage the gratification of basic and natural human desires

The six dimensions of culture were first posited by Dutch social psychologist Geert Hofstede in his seminal book, Culture’s Consequences, in 1983. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory describes the reciprocal effects of a society’s culture on the values and behaviors of its members.

If used uncritically, these dimensions of culture can be hierarchical and reductive—so we must not attempt to validate Hofstede’s findings, but to use them as a model for disruption. Any attempts to classify the members of cultural groups will be skewed by our personal experiences, so this framework is a kind of fly trap for biases, a method of openly capturing all our preconceptions in one glass jar so they may be observed, dissected, and disrupted.

Of course, humans are infinitely complex, but this is simply a model that we lay on top of that complexity to give us some insight. Holding a mirror up to an English person or an Egyptian person, for example, might show them how English or Egyptian they are and allow them to see that perhaps their way of doing things is not the only way.
(Hofstede)

Interpreting cultures is like interpreting the structure of waves on the ocean. They are never fully formed and are perpetually shifting. Yet, I offer Hofstede’s dimensions as a point of (admittedly Western) reference in this task. If we are to disrupt our preconceptions, we must first understand what those preconceptions are.

More About these Dimensions

Hofstede’s research used the statistical method of factor analysis—a process of condensing complex data into correlated variables. From 1967-1973, Hofstede conducted over 120 thousand surveys of cultural values from the employees of IBM International from 72 countries in 25 languages. The results of these surveys elucidated the way these cultures functioned, laying the groundwork for the Western understanding of cross-cultural psychology and communication. Hofstede identified several patterns inherent in all cultures which have been formed into six unique factors (or dimensions). I have taken the liberty of renaming these dimensions slightly for the sake of simplicity and continuity.

Alternative Voices

The following is a simple list of alternative voices for further reading which may offer very different models of cultural interpretation:

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