Is Mary Douglas's Grid/Group Analysis Useful for Cross-Cultural Research?

Bibliographic Data

ID24315075
AuthorsD Douglas Caulkins (Grinnell College)
Year1999
Volume33
Issue1
Pages108-128
Publication date1999-02-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCross-Cultural Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1069-3971 • E-ISSN: 1552-3578
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/106939719903300107
OpenAlexW2012682489
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited30

During the 1970s, anthropologist Mary Douglas developed a twodimensional framework for cultural comparisons: (a) grid or constraint by rules, and (b) group or incorporation into a bounded social unit. According to Douglas and her colleagues, the four grid/ group types constitute stable social configurations that are associated with distinctive values or ideologies: individualism, fatalism, hierarchy, and egalitarianism. The theory has inspired a great deal of elaboration, numerous intrasocietal studies, some controlled comparisons between social units in different societies, and some limited cross-national studies. Although plausible, the framework has not been subjected to extensive cross-cultural testing. This article addresses a preliminary question in the more rigorous crosscultural testing of the framework: Are grid, group, and ideology empirically separate dimensions as Douglas contends? A pilot study employing factor analysis of precoded variables from the 60-culture Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) probability sample file suggests that they may be. Further steps in testing this theoretical framework are proposed.

cross-cultural assessment · cultural comparison · Egalitarianism · Fatalism · Hierarchy · Human Relations Area Files · Ideology · Individualism · Mary Douglas · Cross-Cultural and Social Analysis · Cultural Differences and Values · Global and Cross-Cultural Management