1. Indulgence versus Restraint in 10 minutes
Geert Hofstede
January 2015

2. Origin of the terms “Indulgence” versus “Restraint”
Coined by Michael Minkov for covering certain societal differences revealed by the World Values Survey (WVS), and unexplained by Hofstede’s other five dimensions
Mainly related to national levels of subjective happiness and life control
Based on WVS data for representative samples of the population in 93 societies

3. Indulgence versus Restraint as a societal culture dimension
Indulgent societies allow relatively free gratification
of basic and natural human desires leading to enjoying life and having fun
Restrained societies suppress gratification of needs and regulate it by means of strict social norms

4. Indulgent societies
People feel healthier and happier
A perception of personal life control
Leisure ethic
Optimism, positive attitude
More extraverted personalities
Having friends very important
Active participation in sports
Less moral discipline
Looser sexual mores
Restrained societies
People feel less happy and less healthy
What happens to me is not my doing
Work ethic
Pessimism, cynicism
More introverted personalities
Having friends less important
Less sports participation
Stricter moral discipline
Stricter sexual mores

5. How is a society’s degree of indulgence vs. restraint measured?
There is no absolute standard for the degree of Indulgence versus Restraint
What we can measure is differences between societies
The position of societies relative to each other is expressed in an Indulgence versus Restraint Index score (IVR)
IVR values have been plotted on a scale from 0 to 100; scores close to 0 stand for a more restrained, scores close to 100 for a more indulgent society

6. Some Indulgence versus Restraint (IVR) scores, out of 93
Indulgent
97 Mexico
84 Nigeria
78 Sweden
71 Australia
69 Britain
68 Netherlands
68 U.S.A.
59 Brazil
Restrained
48 France
42 Japan
40 Germany
30 Italy
26 India
24 China
20 Russia
04 Egypt

7. Some examples of what these IVR scores correlate with
Indulgent societies
Freedom of speech for all is rated as very important
Higher crime rates, smaller police force
In countries with educated population, higher birthrates
In wealthy countries, more obesitas
Higher approval of foreign music and films
Restrained societies
Maintaining order in the nation is rated as very important
Lower crime rates, larger police force
In countries with educated population, lower birthrates
In wealthy countries, less obesitas
Lower approval of foreign music and films

8. Long/Short Term Orientation x Indulgence/Restraint
INDULGENT, SHORT-TERM
INDULGENT, LONG TERM
SWEDEN, NETHERLANDS
AUSTRIA, SWITZERLAND
BRITAIN, BELGIUM
NIGERIA, SOUTH AFRICA
SOUTH AMERICA
USA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA
POLAND, PORTUGAL
ZIMBABWE, BURKINA FASO
ISLAMIC COUNTRIES
ITALY, GERMANY
EASTERN EUROPE
JAPAN, INDIA, CHINA
RESTRAINED, SHORT-TERM
RESTRAINED, LONG-TERM

9. Don’t the IVR scores change over time ?
The scores reflect values transferred from parents to children, that rarely change in later life
Research by Sjoerd Beugelsdijk comparing answers to the same questions by two successive generations 30 years apart shows a modest worldwide shift towards more indulgence
However, the position of countries relative to each other remained the same; and this is what the scores are based on
So, the scores can be assumed to be stable over time