Changes: Power distance

Revision as of 14:52, 30 April 2010

Social psychology: Altruism · Attribution · Attitudes · Conformity · Discrimination · Groups · Interpersonal relations · Obedience · Prejudice · Norms · Perception · Index · Outline

Power distance is a cultural index derived by sociologist Geert Hofstede. He identified five dimensions of culture in his study of national work related values. Replication studies have yielded very similar results, pointing to stability of the dimensions across time.

Power distance measures how much a culture has respect for authority. The Arabic-speaking nations, most of Latin America (except Argentina), Russia, and nearly all of Asia (especially India and China) are high in power distance ^{[citation needed]}. Most of Europe, Canada, Australia and Israel are low in power distance. Japan and Mediterranean-Europe fall in the middle range ^{[citation needed]}.

In a high power distance culture:

it's acceptable for a supervisor to display his authority
superiors rarely give their subordinates important work
if something goes wrong, the subordinates are usually blamed for not doing their proper job/role
managers rarely interact or socialize with workers
teachers are treated respectfully
local politics are prone to totalitarianism
class distinctions are emphasized
parents are more highly respected and corporal punishment is more common
revolutions are, or were, common

In a low power distance culture:

supervisors are expected to treat employees respectfully
subordinates may do important work, thus having the opportunity to get promoted quickly
if something goes wrong, the superior/authority figure is usually blamed for having unrealistic expectations or being too strict
managers socialize and interact with workers more often
teachers are simply employees and parents are merely people
totalitarianism and revolutions are rare

Over time the concept has been extended to include analysis of wider forms of relationship outside the work context ^{[citation needed]}.

References

<references/==

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 {{SocialPsy}}
-'''Power distance''' is a [[cultural index]] derived by [[sociologist]] [[Geert Hofstede]]. It measures how much a [[culture]] has [[respect]] for [[authority]]. The Arabic-speaking nations, most of Latin America (except Argentina), Russia, and nearly all of Asia (especially India and China) are high in power distance {{cn}}. Most of Europe, Canada, Australia and Israel are low in power distance. Japan and Mediterranean-Europe fall in the middle range {{cn}}.
+'''Power distance''' is a [[cultural index]] derived by [[sociologist]] [[Geert Hofstede]]. He identified five dimensions of [[culture]] in his study of national work related values. Replication studies have yielded very similar results, pointing to stability of the dimensions across time.
+Power distance measures how much a [[culture]] has [[respect]] for [[authority]]. The Arabic-speaking nations, most of Latin America (except Argentina), Russia, and nearly all of Asia (especially India and China) are high in power distance {{cn}}. Most of Europe, Canada, Australia and Israel are low in power distance. Japan and Mediterranean-Europe fall in the middle range {{cn}}.
 In a high power distance culture:
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 * totalitarianism and revolutions are rare
+Over time the concept has been extended to include analysis of wider forms of relationship outside the work context {{cn}}.
 ==See also==
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 {{enWP|Power distance}}
+[[Category:organizational psychology]]
+[[Category:Political philosophy]]
 [[Category:Social psychology]]
 [[Category:Social philosophy]]
-[[Category:Political philosophy]]