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Collectivism : A Different Brain Pattern Known As Collectivism

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A very clear difference has emerged between different societies. This goes beyond the varying dress, food, and laws that are in difference cultures. It also penetrates the mindset of the people. In some cultures, such as China, there is a different brain pattern known as collectivism. In a study done by Zhu and Others (2007), participants used a different part of the brain to think about their mothers (Meyers ___, 42). Simply put, collectivism is a society where family or a society comes before any individual. Naturally, how one values him or herself, or self-esteem, is directly related to the group that person belongs to (Meyers ____, 43). On the other hand, individualism is where one person thinks of him or herself before others…show more content…
China is known for being a collectivist society, as seen in Zhu & others (2007) study about brain activation. This study will have two groups that participants will be selected from. The first will be immigrants that grew up in China. The second group will be American citizens that have lived their lives in the United States. A key aspect about this second group is their parents must have been born and raised in the United States as well. This is critical when considering the aspects of assimilation that must occur in order to adapt the thought processes prevalent in the United States.
The first group of participants that have recently immigrated will be first given a Mandarin proficiency exam. Then they will be given a questionnaire that will ask questions about how much they value their personal relationships, individual achievement and how they would perceive threats. (Meyers _____52) This will question the strength of their individualistic narcissistic tendencies. Similar questions will be asked about their ethnic group and the community that they belonged to in China to judge their collectivistic narcissistic tendencies. The last questionnaire will be questions about how their parents and other influential adults praised him or her as a child. The questions will be to distinguish if the praise centered on community or individual qualities.
The second group of participants will be from the United States, a very
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