I do not think it has much to do with culture as much as it has to do with the incentive structures in place. I have never studied outside Europe but even in Eu

I do not think it has much to do with culture as much as it has to do with the incentive structures in place. I have never studied outside Europe but even in Europe I have experienced grading systems were you are praised for your achievement with respect to your mates and others were you are praised for your achievement objectively. Honour titles are usually objective, and very hard to get while grants and scholarships are subjective, there is a quota set per year and it goes to the best that that year has to offer. But yes, sometimes the incentive structures set up are really counter productive. If the work is supposed to be a team effort then you shouldn't praise anyone less than the whole team for their achievement. Otherwise, what incentive do the team members have to work together?