The inaccuracy of national character stereotypes

Robert R. McCrae; Wayne Chan; Lee Jussim; Filip De Fruyt; Corinna E. Löckenhoff; Marleen De Bolle; Paul T. Costa; Martina Hřebíčková; Sylvie Graf; Anu Realo; Jüri Allik; Katsuharu Nakazato; Yoshiko Shimonaka; Michelle Yik; Emília Ficková; Marina Brunner-Sciarra; Norma Reátigui; Nora Leibovich de Figueora; Vanina Schmidt; Chang kyu Ahn; Hyun nie Ahn; Maria E. Aguilar-Vafaie; Jerzy Siuta; Barbara Szmigielska; Thomas R. Cain; Jarret T. Crawford; Khairul Anwar Mastor; Jean Pierre Rolland; Florence Nansubuga; Daniel R. Miramontez; Veronica Benet-Martínez; Jér Ôme Rossier; Denis Bratko; Iris Marušić; Jamin Halberstadt; Mami Yamaguchi; Goran Knežević; Danka Purić; Thomas A. Martin; Mirona Gheorghiu; Peter B. Smith; Claudio Barbaranelli; Lei Wang; Jane Shakespeare-Finch; Margarida P. Lima; Waldemar Klinkosz; Andrzej Sekowski; Lidia Alcalay; Franco Simonetti; Tatyana V. Avdeyeva; V. S. Pramila; Antonio Terracciano

doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2013.08.006

The inaccuracy of national character stereotypes

Robert R. McCrae, Wayne Chan, Lee Jussim, Filip De Fruyt, Corinna E. Löckenhoff, Marleen De Bolle, Paul T. Costa, Martina Hřebíčková, Sylvie Graf, Anu Realo, Jüri Allik, Katsuharu Nakazato, Yoshiko Shimonaka, Michelle Yik, Emília Ficková, Marina Brunner-Sciarra, Norma Reátigui, Nora Leibovich de Figueora, Vanina Schmidt, Chang kyu AhnHyun nie Ahn, Maria E. Aguilar-Vafaie, Jerzy Siuta, Barbara Szmigielska, Thomas R. Cain, Jarret T. Crawford, Khairul Anwar Mastor, Jean Pierre Rolland, Florence Nansubuga, Daniel R. Miramontez, Veronica Benet-Martínez, Jér Ôme Rossier, Denis Bratko, Iris Marušić, Jamin Halberstadt, Mami Yamaguchi, Goran Knežević, Danka Purić, Thomas A. Martin, Mirona Gheorghiu, Peter B. Smith, Claudio Barbaranelli, Lei Wang, Jane Shakespeare-Finch, Margarida P. Lima, Waldemar Klinkosz, Andrzej Sekowski, Lidia Alcalay, Franco Simonetti, Tatyana V. Avdeyeva, V. S. Pramila, Antonio Terracciano

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

Consensual stereotypes of some groups are relatively accurate, whereas others are not. Previous work suggesting that national character stereotypes are inaccurate has been criticized on several grounds. In this article we (a) provide arguments for the validity of assessed national mean trait levels as criteria for evaluating stereotype accuracy and (b) report new data on national character in 26 cultures from descriptions (N= 3323) of the typical male or female adolescent, adult, or old person in each. The average ratings were internally consistent and converged with independent stereotypes of the typical culture member, but were weakly related to objective assessments of personality. We argue that this conclusion is consistent with the broader literature on the inaccuracy of national character stereotypes.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	831-842
Number of pages	12
Journal	Journal of Research in Personality
Volume	47
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2013.08.006
State	Published - Dec 2013
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Cross-cultural
Five-Factor Model
National character
Personality traits
Stereotypes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Psychology
General Psychology

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10.1016/j.jrp.2013.08.006

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McCrae, R. R., Chan, W., Jussim, L., De Fruyt, F., Löckenhoff, C. E., De Bolle, M., Costa, P. T., Hřebíčková, M., Graf, S., Realo, A., Allik, J., Nakazato, K., Shimonaka, Y., Yik, M., Ficková, E., Brunner-Sciarra, M., Reátigui, N., Leibovich de Figueora, N., Schmidt, V., ... Terracciano, A. (2013). The inaccuracy of national character stereotypes. Journal of Research in Personality, 47(6), 831-842. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2013.08.006

McCrae, RR, Chan, W, Jussim, L, De Fruyt, F, Löckenhoff, CE, De Bolle, M, Costa, PT, Hřebíčková, M, Graf, S, Realo, A, Allik, J, Nakazato, K, Shimonaka, Y, Yik, M, Ficková, E, Brunner-Sciarra, M, Reátigui, N, Leibovich de Figueora, N, Schmidt, V, Ahn, CK, Ahn, HN, Aguilar-Vafaie, ME, Siuta, J, Szmigielska, B, Cain, TR, Crawford, JT, Mastor, KA, Rolland, JP, Nansubuga, F, Miramontez, DR, Benet-Martínez, V, Rossier, JÔ, Bratko, D, Marušić, I, Halberstadt, J, Yamaguchi, M, Knežević, G, Purić, D, Martin, TA, Gheorghiu, M, Smith, PB, Barbaranelli, C, Wang, L, Shakespeare-Finch, J, Lima, MP, Klinkosz, W, Sekowski, A, Alcalay, L, Simonetti, F, Avdeyeva, TV, Pramila, VS & Terracciano, A 2013, 'The inaccuracy of national character stereotypes', Journal of Research in Personality, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 831-842. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2013.08.006

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title = "The inaccuracy of national character stereotypes",

abstract = "Consensual stereotypes of some groups are relatively accurate, whereas others are not. Previous work suggesting that national character stereotypes are inaccurate has been criticized on several grounds. In this article we (a) provide arguments for the validity of assessed national mean trait levels as criteria for evaluating stereotype accuracy and (b) report new data on national character in 26 cultures from descriptions (N= 3323) of the typical male or female adolescent, adult, or old person in each. The average ratings were internally consistent and converged with independent stereotypes of the typical culture member, but were weakly related to objective assessments of personality. We argue that this conclusion is consistent with the broader literature on the inaccuracy of national character stereotypes.",

keywords = "Cross-cultural, Five-Factor Model, National character, Personality traits, Stereotypes",

author = "McCrae, {Robert R.} and Wayne Chan and Lee Jussim and {De Fruyt}, Filip and L{\"o}ckenhoff, {Corinna E.} and {De Bolle}, Marleen and Costa, {Paul T.} and Martina H{\v r}eb{\'i}{\v c}kov{\'a} and Sylvie Graf and Anu Realo and J{\"u}ri Allik and Katsuharu Nakazato and Yoshiko Shimonaka and Michelle Yik and Em{\'i}lia Fickov{\'a} and Marina Brunner-Sciarra and Norma Re{\'a}tigui and {Leibovich de Figueora}, Nora and Vanina Schmidt and Ahn, {Chang kyu} and Ahn, {Hyun nie} and Aguilar-Vafaie, {Maria E.} and Jerzy Siuta and Barbara Szmigielska and Cain, {Thomas R.} and Crawford, {Jarret T.} and Mastor, {Khairul Anwar} and Rolland, {Jean Pierre} and Florence Nansubuga and Miramontez, {Daniel R.} and Veronica Benet-Mart{\'i}nez and Rossier, {J{\'e}r {\^O}me} and Denis Bratko and Iris Maru{\v s}i{\'c} and Jamin Halberstadt and Mami Yamaguchi and Goran Kne{\v z}evi{\'c} and Danka Puri{\'c} and Martin, {Thomas A.} and Mirona Gheorghiu and Smith, {Peter B.} and Claudio Barbaranelli and Lei Wang and Jane Shakespeare-Finch and Lima, {Margarida P.} and Waldemar Klinkosz and Andrzej Sekowski and Lidia Alcalay and Franco Simonetti and Avdeyeva, {Tatyana V.} and Pramila, {V. S.} and Antonio Terracciano",

note = "Funding Information: This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging. Anu Realo and J{\"u}ri Allik were supported by Grants from the Estonian Ministry of Education and Science ( SF0180029s08 and IUT2-13 ). Martina H{\v r}eb{\'i}{\v c}kov{\'a} and Sylvie Graf were supported by a Grant from the Czech Science Foundation ( 13-25656S ). Robert R. McCrae and Paul T. Costa, Jr., receive royalties from the NEO Inventories.",

year = "2013",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1016/j.jrp.2013.08.006",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "47",

pages = "831--842",

journal = "Journal of Research in Personality",

issn = "0092-6566",

publisher = "Academic Press Inc.",

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T1 - The inaccuracy of national character stereotypes

AU - McCrae, Robert R.

AU - Chan, Wayne

AU - Jussim, Lee

AU - De Fruyt, Filip

AU - Löckenhoff, Corinna E.

AU - De Bolle, Marleen

AU - Costa, Paul T.

AU - Hřebíčková, Martina

AU - Graf, Sylvie

AU - Realo, Anu

AU - Allik, Jüri

AU - Nakazato, Katsuharu

AU - Shimonaka, Yoshiko

AU - Yik, Michelle

AU - Ficková, Emília

AU - Brunner-Sciarra, Marina

AU - Reátigui, Norma

AU - Leibovich de Figueora, Nora

AU - Schmidt, Vanina

AU - Ahn, Chang kyu

AU - Ahn, Hyun nie

AU - Aguilar-Vafaie, Maria E.

AU - Siuta, Jerzy

AU - Szmigielska, Barbara

AU - Cain, Thomas R.

AU - Crawford, Jarret T.

AU - Mastor, Khairul Anwar

AU - Rolland, Jean Pierre

AU - Nansubuga, Florence

AU - Miramontez, Daniel R.

AU - Benet-Martínez, Veronica

AU - Rossier, Jér Ôme

AU - Bratko, Denis

AU - Marušić, Iris

AU - Halberstadt, Jamin

AU - Yamaguchi, Mami

AU - Knežević, Goran

AU - Purić, Danka

AU - Martin, Thomas A.

AU - Gheorghiu, Mirona

AU - Smith, Peter B.

AU - Barbaranelli, Claudio

AU - Wang, Lei

AU - Shakespeare-Finch, Jane

AU - Lima, Margarida P.

AU - Klinkosz, Waldemar

AU - Sekowski, Andrzej

AU - Alcalay, Lidia

AU - Simonetti, Franco

AU - Avdeyeva, Tatyana V.

AU - Pramila, V. S.

AU - Terracciano, Antonio

N1 - Funding Information: This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging. Anu Realo and Jüri Allik were supported by Grants from the Estonian Ministry of Education and Science ( SF0180029s08 and IUT2-13 ). Martina Hřebíčková and Sylvie Graf were supported by a Grant from the Czech Science Foundation ( 13-25656S ). Robert R. McCrae and Paul T. Costa, Jr., receive royalties from the NEO Inventories.

PY - 2013/12

Y1 - 2013/12

N2 - Consensual stereotypes of some groups are relatively accurate, whereas others are not. Previous work suggesting that national character stereotypes are inaccurate has been criticized on several grounds. In this article we (a) provide arguments for the validity of assessed national mean trait levels as criteria for evaluating stereotype accuracy and (b) report new data on national character in 26 cultures from descriptions (N= 3323) of the typical male or female adolescent, adult, or old person in each. The average ratings were internally consistent and converged with independent stereotypes of the typical culture member, but were weakly related to objective assessments of personality. We argue that this conclusion is consistent with the broader literature on the inaccuracy of national character stereotypes.

AB - Consensual stereotypes of some groups are relatively accurate, whereas others are not. Previous work suggesting that national character stereotypes are inaccurate has been criticized on several grounds. In this article we (a) provide arguments for the validity of assessed national mean trait levels as criteria for evaluating stereotype accuracy and (b) report new data on national character in 26 cultures from descriptions (N= 3323) of the typical male or female adolescent, adult, or old person in each. The average ratings were internally consistent and converged with independent stereotypes of the typical culture member, but were weakly related to objective assessments of personality. We argue that this conclusion is consistent with the broader literature on the inaccuracy of national character stereotypes.

KW - Cross-cultural

KW - Five-Factor Model

KW - National character

KW - Personality traits

KW - Stereotypes

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The inaccuracy of national character stereotypes

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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