Collectivism

by Katie Hutchens 

While queuing at the Coliseum in Rome, I encountered a cultural mismatch. My group had been in the queue to purchase tickets for almost an hour when an Italian-speaking family suddenly appeared behind us. They attempted to squeeze past our group and others near us, in order to improve their position in the line.

After learning in class that Italy is more of a collectivist culture, rather than the USA, which tends to be more individualistic, I was surprised by this behavior. With hindsight, I recognize that the unwritten rules for how to line up in public must be encoded within their culture, specifically within the “covert” aspect of the culture. My mistake, or stumbling block, was to assume similarity between our two cultures in this specific social situation.