On the Empirical Identification of Dimensions for Cross-Cultural Comparisons

In cross-cultural psychology a major goal is to identify dimensions of culture. For this purpose, the cross-cultural analysis (referred to as ecological analysis by Hofstede, 1980) is often used. Two methodological difficulties associated with this method are discussed, and their solution is proposed. A method intended to identify universal dimensions of individual difference, the pancultural analysis, is likely to produce results similar to those obtained in a cross-cultural analysis and hence is unable to achieve its purpose of identifying individual dimensions. A new procedure, based on a within-culture standardization procedure, is introduced for this purpose. A case study of the differences in the results produced by the cross-cultural and the new analyses is then used as a springboard for a further discussion of Shweder's(1973) between-within issue. The theoretical meaning of cultural and individual dimensions is also discussed.