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July 30, 2014 Why Social Epidemics Sometimes Spread More Slowly in Collectivist Societies Psychologists have always assumed that social trends spread more quickly in societies that emphasize people's interdependence and de-emphasize individualism, but sometimes the opposite can happen. Sweden, a country whose culture emphasizes collectivism, was about a decade behind the U.S. (a highly individualistic society) in reaching a peak proportion of smokers in the population (30%). That's because in collectivist societies, "social inertia" can inhibit the spread of socially contagious phenomena, the researchers say. SOURCE: Mathematicians Explain Why Social Epidemics Spread Faster in Some Countries Than Others

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