Psychology of Space Exploration
document a prodigious amount of research-based findings.^35 It is no exaggeration
to say that Hofstede’s dimensions are among the most intensively investigated psy-
chological constructs in the last three decades.
As labeled by Hofstede, the four dimensions pertain to power distance, indi-
vidualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, and uncertainty avoidance, respec-
tively. Subsequent to the completion of Hofstede’s original data collection, a fifth
dimension was added on the basis of a somewhat different methodology. It refers
to short- versus long-term orientation and was originally designed to span the con-
tinuum between Confucian and Western dynamism. Power distance was defined
by Hofstede and Hofstede as the extent to which unequal distribution of power is
accepted as a normal or natural state of affairs. Individualism-collectivism is a bipo-
lar dimension, bounded by the exaltation of the self at one extreme and the over-
riding prominence of the group or collectivity at the other. Masculinity-femininity
refers to the characteristic overlap between gender roles that is encountered within
a culture. Such overlap is less extensive in masculine and more extensive in fem-
inine cultures. Moreover, masculine cultures are tilted toward achievement and
performance, and feminine cultures favor caring. Uncertainty avoidance is high
in those cultures where situations that lack clarity or structure are experienced
as unpleasant or noxious. Low uncertainty-avoidance settings thrive on ambigu-
ity, unpredictability, and improvisation. Long-term orientation differs from short-
term orientation in the degree to which a culture’s members are willing to postpone
immediate reinforcement in favor of delayed rewards.
In the present context, it is worth noting that, as reported by Hofstede and
Hofstede, the U.S. culture has been found to be the highest in individualism among
the 72 cultures for which such indicators are available and that Russia’s rank on this
dimension is 37th and Japan’s, 46th.^36 On the other hand, Russia clearly exceeds
both Japan and the United States in power distance, in which it ranks 6th while
Japanese and American ranks are 50th and 58th, respectively. In uncertainty avoid-
ance, the ranks are 7th for Russia; for Japan, 12th; and for the United States, 63rd.
In masculinity-femininity, Japan is more masculine, ranking 2nd, while the United
- G. Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations
Across Nations, 2nd ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2001); G. Hofstede and G. J. Hofstede, Cultures
and Organizations: Software of the Mind, 2nd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005). - G. Hofstede and G. J. Hofstede, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind.