American vs Nordic Individualism

Are Nordic countries collectivist or individualistic? If they are individualistic, how is that individualism different from American individualism?

American individualism is well known throughout the world, and one may point to Asian collectivism as its opposite. One example that always comes to my mind is from an experiment run by psychologist Richard Nisbett. He compared American and Asian children by having them look at a fish tank and describe what they saw.

American children tended to focus on the biggest fish and what it was doing. The focus was on the one doing something. Japanese and Chinese children in contrast would instead explain the ecosystem. How the fish interacted with each other and inanimate objects such as rocks or seaweed.

In other words, Americans focused on the behavior of individuals in a group, while Asians focused on the group dynamic, i.e. how the members of the group interacted with each other.

This type of cultural differences has long fascinated me. I recall reading many years ago about American and Japanese baseball players moving to each other’s respective countries and their experiences. The American player was frustrated that he did not get treated like the star player that he was but instead was treated as just another team member, performing a task in a larger machinery.