Cross-Cultural and Demographic Differences in the Perception of Nations

Abstract

The cognitive representations we have about other nations depend on both cultural and individual characteristics. According to Tajfel's functional perception hypothesis, people may bias their perceptions of other nations by paying particular attention to those characteristics on which their own country is positively distinctive relative to comparable other nations. We evaluated this hypothesis in a developed (Australia) and a developing (Papua New Guinea) nation. Subjects were asked to (a) provide similarity judgements between each pair of 20 countries, selected to be representative of .he major national groupings of the world, and (b) to rate each country on 12 bipolar scales. In addition, demographic information (sex, age, religion, socioeconomic status, and political preference) was also obtained from each subject. The data were analysed using an Individual Differences Multidimensional Scaling (INDSCAL) procedure, resulting in three perceptual dimensions: European-non-European; communist-capitalist; and developed-underdeveloped. A multiple discriminant analysis indicated significant differences between Australian and Papua New Guinean subjects in their use of these dimensions, consistent with the functional perception hypothesis. Demographic variables were also related to nation perception. These results are discussed in terms of their significance for functionalist theories of social perception, and their implications for intercultural communication are considered.