Cultural Differences in Behavior Towards Health Threats of Japanese and Americans

Cultural Differences in behavior towards Health threats: A Comparison of Japanese and Americans
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Cultural differences in behavior toward Health threats
Behavior during a disaster is influenced by several factors, including the type of disaster, access to information, and cultural context. During a disaster, people may act to ensure their survival or that of loved ones; some may evacuate or take measures to protect themselves from danger, while others may panic (Provitolo et al., 2011). Public health scares such as disease outbreaks and pandemics can significantly affect access to essential healthcare services, intensifying morbidity and mortality. Responses to the pandemics, including the recent COVID-19, have ranged from lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, and restricted movements, among others, aimed at limiting aggravation and mortality (Kiarie et al., 2022).
While the COVID-19 pandemic has had a global impact, how different cultures behaved toward the virus varied significantly. Japan and the United States are two examples of this, with the two countries taking markedly different approaches to the pandemic. Kodama et al. (2022) attribute the Japanese response to be heavily rooted in societal norms, with citizens abiding by government recommendations to wear masks and socially distance themselves for their protection and benevolent behavior such as donating masks and relief funds to the less fortunate in the efforts to curb the spread. However, the American response has been much more disruptive, with many people rebelling against government guidelines, protesting mask mandates, and engaging in high-risk behaviors (Maaravi et al., 2021). These differences may be partially explained by cultural values, with Japan often seen as a more collectivist society while the United States typically characterized as individualistic (Aliasis, 2018). Understanding these cultural differences can help provide insights into how different countries manage health threats.
Very few studies have shown that people in individualistic cultures are more likely to focus on their health and that of their immediate family. In contrast, people in collectivistic cultures are more likely to focus on the group’s well-being as a whole (Heine, 2020). Nair et al.’s (2022) study focus on how culture affects behavioral responses and discusses how culture can shape people's behavior, particularly in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It references Hofstede's cultural diversity model, which outlines several dimensions of cultural difference: individualism vs. collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity vs. femininity, and long-term vs. short-term orientation. These dimensions can help explain the variations in how different societies react to and cope with the pandemic.
Smith et al. (2018) further indicate that members of individualistic cultures view self-image in terms of their uniqueness and individual achievement as those from collectivistic cultures define theirs through important reference groups, focusing on the degree to which their goals and achievement mirror their interdependence upon others. Hence, members of collectivistic cultures prefer fair treatment of others over actions that could disadvantage others, unlike those from individualistic cultures that emphasize personal agency.
Nevertheless, little research has investigated how these cultural differences affect people's behavior in response to a threat to well-being. Most of the explorations highlight individual versus collectivist behavioral proclivities such as risk aversion measures and other social tendencies, such as obedience, and compliance to social norms, about their social immunity (Zhu et al., 2020). Dong et al. (2021) discuss how people tend to justify their self-serving behaviors during a crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though people may generally agree on what is morally right or wrong, they may evaluate their wrongdoings more leniently than others. This self-interest bias can result in people not adhering to guidelines that would benefit the collective good to serve their immediate interests.
A study by Tse et al. (2021) indicates that individuals often seek to alleviate stress and anxiety caused by a stressor in times of crisis through many coping mechanisms. The study observed various responses during the pandemic; where during the onset, people could reportedly donate supplies to the needy while others emptied shelves in grocery stores (Tse et al., 2021). Another study found that people in collectivistic cultures were more likely to donate to a relief fund during a disaster than people in individualistic cultures (Shimizu, 2016). Yet, this study only focused on one type of behavior - donating money in response to one kind of threat – a health threat.
The current study explores whether individualistic vs. collectivistic values influence how people respond to a broader range of health threats. The study seeks to identify variations in behavior towards health pandemics for self-preservation through self-report and social media surveys among a sample of individuals. Specifically, we aim to answer the question: Are people in individualistic cultures such as the United States more likely to protect themselves, while people in collectivistic cultures such as Japan more likely to focus on protecting others amid a pandemic-level health threat?
The study also proposes experimenting to test this hypothesis. It will recruit participants from the United States and Japan and ask them to respond to hypothetical health threat scenarios. The paper hypothesizes that Americans will be more likely to focus on self-protection, while Japanese participants will be more likely to focus on protecting themselves and others. These findings will elaborate upon the limited literature regarding cross-cultural differences in reactionary behavior during pandemi...