Steven Pinker’s book, “The Blank Slate: The modern Denial of Human Nature,” has quite a lot to say about this. He identifies five personality traits that are basic to all humans.
For example: extroverted – shy. All of us lie somewhere on the line between being very extroverted and extremely shy. He believes these are genetic inheritances and can be changed somewhat by parental influence/education, but that a shy person can never become an extrovert.

Another example: aggressive – passive.
Aggression can be channeled either for good or ill, but an aggressive person will never become passive.
The other three traits are:
open minded – closed minded
conscientious – careless
neurotic – emotionally stable

He might not be totally correct, but when you think about human behavior, it appears that much of it is inherited and largely unchangeable/unmodifiable.

How about this angle?….
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Humanity seems very much heavily weighted toward the risk-averse.

People are uncomfortable / fearful taking risks (real and perceived).

Some have more tolerance than others.

Some situations motivate them more than others to take risks, or, opposite, to step back.

Taking risks is also harder / more involved, and carries responsibilities if the results turn south.
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Is it that people “want” to be told what to do, or is it that they DON’T WANT to “stick out their necks”?

This may LOOK very much like “wanting to be told”, but actually isn’t.

They are just agreeable to “it”, whatever “it” is at the time.
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This, of course, is a simplification of something much more complex going on with each person, with multiples of variables, influences, and biographies that impact each.

Don’t know if there is an existing theory on this, so don’t know if there is any proper terminology to describe it better.

Anyway, food for thought.

HIS first impression was “color!”.

He made his way into Italy, and was amazed at the signage, the clothing, the cars, the hair, etc..

We take for granted these things, and involve ourselves with the trivialities of life (aka First World Problems) that few of us can relate, nor imagine.
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Incidentally, for a different flavor, another I met from Brazil says “order” is their first impression. That is, folks actually stand in a line, drive between the lines, respect the traffic lights, etc..

Definitely several steps ahead of the Iron Curtain folks, but clearly reflects a social disorder, a lack of trust to be treated “fairly”.
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Yes, Venezuela is a self-inflicted tragedy.

A Gute Pesach to you and all.

Years ago a friend, whose wife is Eastern European and whose adopted daughter is from Romania told me of putting up a visitor from a former communist nation, right after the Soviet Union fell. My friend told of exactly the same reaction when he brought along his visitor on a quick trip to the local grocery store. He said the man was stunned at the variety and abundance and disbelieving of his own eyes, thinking it a trick, until assured that it was the norm in the West. The clincher was when my friend volunteered to take him around to see as many grocery stores in the area as he might wish until he’d confirmed it to his own satisfaction.

Venezuela is the most recent proof of socialism’s bankruptcy but they cannot let go of their delusions.

If the Jews were never enslaved in Egypt, then Moses could never have led them out of bondage. No miraculous plagues, no parting of the red sea, no burning bush that is not consumed by the fire on Mt. Sinai and NO Ten Commandments… thus no justification for Isreal.

It’s about invalidating Judaism and by default, Christianity too.