The Multivariate Rarity of Western Psychology Using data from the World Values Survey (2005–2014) across 80 countries (≈85% of the world’s population), Muthukrishna et al. (2020) show that cultural and psychological differences between societies are best understood as patterns across multiple variables, rather than as large gaps on any single dimension. When hundreds of traits are considered jointly, Western populations emerge as statistically unusual in multivariate psychological space, despite substantial overlap on individual traits. Broadly speaking, the study finds that Western populations exhibit higher individualism, are more willing to cooperate and extend moral concern beyond kin, place greater emphasis on personal freedom and self-expression, display greater tolerance for individual variation, and place less emphasis on obedience to authority. Importantly, the study systematically understates true differences: it captures only a limited subset of psychological constructs—excluding, among others, cognitive ability (IQ)—and represents each included dimension with a small number of survey questions that capture only part of the underlying psychological variance; treats all questions as equally important; collapses response categories in ways that discard information about degree and intensity; and relies on survey items that may not fully represent the same constructs or have the same meaning across cultures. Consequently, the study paints a low-resolution portrait of cross-cultural psychological differences, rather than revealing their full magnitude and true direction.

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