Validity Ofvertical and Horizontal Individualism and Collectivism in Singapore

Abstract

The cross-cultural construct validity of vertical and horizontal individualism (VI and HI) and horizontal and vertical collectivism (HC and VC) at the individual level of analysis is examined across 180 U.S. and 184 Singapore students. The findings showed that the four-factor structure was invariant for a 16-item attitudinal measure (although one item did not fit well), the U.S. students were more HI and the Singapore students were more VC, and the constructs had culture-general and culture-specific associations with values and interests. Although the cross-cultural validity of the structure and individualism-collectivism dimension of the constructs were supported, the precision of the operationalization of the vertical-horizontal dimension by the 16-item measure is called into question because the expected correlations were not found.