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Individualism

Individualism is the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. On the individualist side, we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.
The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people´s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “We”. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. In Collectivist societies, people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of them in exchange for loyalty.
Finland, with a score of 63 is an Individualist society. This means there is a high preference for a loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of themselves and their immediate families only. In Individualist societies offence causes guilt and a loss of self-esteem, the employer/employee relationship is a contract based on mutual advantage, hiring and promotion decisions are supposed to be based on merit only, management is the management of individuals.
By my experience here I agree, Finnish people are individualist, and Finland is an individualist society. It´s common going to the student restaurants and see a lot of people eating alone for example, also in a normal cafe or restaurants. I had some groups works and the one I had only with Finnish students was all online, they didn´t want to meet to work together, they just prefer doing everything online by themselves. Also, I had spoken with Finnish people and I think they don´t have a very near relation with their relatives as we have in Spain, they are more independent. Furthermore, at university we have to look for most of the things in our own, they promote independence, at work and studies, and I believe is a bit related to the individualism. 
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