Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships, 2020a

The final characteristic of cultures is a new one first reported on in the 2010 edition of Cultures and
Organizations. 33 The sixth cultural characteristic is called indulgence vs. restraint, which examines issues
of happiness and wellbeing. According to Hofstede and his coauthors, “Indulgence stands for a tendency
to allow relatively free gratification of basic and natural human desires related to enjoying life and having
fun. Its opposite pole, restraint, reflects a conviction that such gratification needs to be curbed and
regulated by strict social norms.” 34 The top five on the Indulgence end are Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto
Rico, El Salvador, and Nigeria, whereas those on the restraint end are Pakistan, Egypt, Latvia, Ukraine,
and Albania. The U.S. is towards the indulgence end of the spectrum and ranks at #15 along with Canada
and the Netherlands. Some interesting findings associated with indulgence include experiencing higher
levels of positive emotions and remembering those emotions for more extended periods. Furthermore,
individuals from more indulgent cultures tend to be more optimistic, while their restrained counterparts
tend to be more cynical. People in more indulgent countries are going to be happier than their restrained
counterparts, and people within indulgent cultures show lower rates of cardiovascular problems
commonly associated with stress. Finally, individuals from indulgent cultures tend to be more extraverted
and outgoing as a whole, whereas individuals from restrained cultures tend to be more neurotic. From
years of research examining both extraversion and neuroticism, we know that extraverted individuals
have more successful interpersonal relationships than those who are highly neurotic. Ultimately, research
examining these differences have shown that people from indulgent countries are more open to other
cultures, more satisfied with their lives, and are more likely to communicate with friends and family
members via the Internet while interacting with more people from other cultures via the Internet as well.
Research Spotlight
In 2017, Daniel H. Mansson and Aldís G. Sigurðardóttir set out to examine
the concept of trait affection in relation to Hofstede’s theoretical framework.
“Affectionate communication is conceptualized as a person’s use of intentional and
overt communicative behaviors to convey feelings of closeness, care, and fondness in
the form of verbal statements, nonverbal behaviors, and social support.” 35
For this study, the researchers studied 606 participants in four different countries:
Denmark, Iceland, Poland, and the United States.
When it came to trait affection given, the United States participants reported
giving more affection than any of the three other countries. The other
countries did not differ from each other with regard to trait affection given.
When it came to trait affection received, all four groups differed from one another. The order of affection
received was (in order of the most trait affection received) United States, Denmark, Poland, and Iceland.
Finally, the researchers examined affection given and received with regards to Hofstede’s work. “The
results also indicated that trait affection given was significantly associated with the individualismcollectivism,
masculinity-femininity, and uncertainty avoidance dimensions of cultures. Similarly, trait
affection received was significantly associated with the individualism-collectivism and uncertainty avoidance
dimensions of cultures.” 36
Mansson, D. H., & Sigurðardóttir, A. G. (2017). Trait affection given and received: A test of Hofstede’s
theoretical framework. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 46(2), 161-172. https://doi.org/10.10
Research
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