Cross-Cultural Perceptions of Deviance: The Case of Bhopal

Abstract

Incorporating theory from several disciplines and data concerning media coverage of the Bhopal disaster, this article examines perceptions of the Union Carbide incident in Bhopal, India, from a cross-cultural perspective. More specifically, we attempt to employ a content analysis of three Indian periodicals and corresponding accounts in a matched sample of periodicals from the United States to test certain assumptions that impinge upon consensus-conflict issues. Several factors that structure the creation of definitions (i.e., ideological, political, economic, proximity of the event, seriousness, and cost-benefit analysis) are discussed. Findings from this study indicate little cross-cultural consensus concerning the definition of the Bhopal incident in India and the United States. Consensus was found, however, on other levels. U.S. periodicals, for instance, all seemed to portray this incident in a similar manner, while there was some variation among Indian periodicals. Furthermore, there was cross-cultural definitional agreement between American and Indian business periodicals.