Psychologists have always assumed that social trends spread more quickly in societies that emphasise people’s interdependence and de-emphasise individualism, but sometimes the opposite can happen. Sweden, a country whose culture emphasises collectivism, was about a decade behind the US (a highly individualistic society) in reaching a peak proportion of smokers in the population (30pc). That’s because in collectivist societies, ‘social inertia’ can inhibit the spread of socially contagious phenomena, the researchers say.

(Source: MIT Technology Review)

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, August 18th, 2014