He and his collaborators found that European-Americans were more likely than Latin Americans to demonstrate competence—for instance, solving tough problems at work—as a strategy for earning professional respect, whereas Latin Americans were more likely to demonstrate warmth, perhaps by volunteering to help co-workers.
Further, people who are individualist see status as a sign of competence but not warmth, whereas people who are collectivist associate warmth but not competence with status. Failing to recognize these cultural differences can create conflict and disappointment if, for instance, you and your superior are using different metrics to judge your performance.
“This stream of research is rooted in my observations about differences in politicians in Latin America and the U.S.,” Torelli says.
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