Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis of Changes in Individualism and Collectivism Among Chinese

Previous research has shown a global trend of rising individualism and declining collectivism in recent decades. However, studies on the trends specifically among the Chinese population have yielded inconsistent results. This study employed a cross-temporal meta-analysis to examine changes in individualism and collectivism among Chinese individuals. The findings indicated that between 2001 and 2023, there was also a trend of increasing individualism and decreasing collectivism in China, though the magnitude of these changes was relatively small. These findings provide empirical evidence for modest cultural-value change in China and extend modernization accounts by showing that marketization, urbanization, and economic development are associated with individualism and collectivism.