National character does not reflect mean personality trait levels in 49 cultures

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

  • A Terracciano
  • A M Abdel-Khalek
  • N Adám
  • L Adamovová
  • C-k Ahn
  • H-n Ahn
  • B M Alansari
  • L Alcalay
  • J Allik
  • A Angleitner
  • M D Avia
  • L E Ayearst
  • C Barbaranelli
  • A Beer
  • M A Borg-Cunen
  • D Bratko
  • M Brunner-Sciarra
  • L Budzinski
  • N Camart
  • D Dahourou
  • F De Fruyt
  • M P de Lima
  • G E H del Pilar
  • E Diener
  • R Falzon
  • K Fernando
  • E Ficková
  • R Fischer
  • C Flores-Mendoza
  • M A Ghayur
  • S Gülgöz
  • B Hagberg
  • J Halberstadt
  • M S Halim
  • M Hrebícková
  • J Humrichouse
  • Hans Henrik Jensen
  • D D Jocic
  • F H Jónsson
  • B Khoury
  • W Klinkosz
  • G Knezevic
  • M A Lauri
  • N Leibovich
  • T A Martin
  • I Marusic
  • K A Mastor
  • D Matsumoto
  • M McRorie
  • B Meshcheriakov
  • M Munyae
  • J Nagy
  • K Nakazato
  • F Nansubuga
  • S Oishi
  • A O Ojedokun
  • F Ostendorf
  • D L Paulhus
  • S Pelevin
  • J-M Petot
  • N Podobnik
  • J L Porrata
  • V S Pramila
  • G Prentice
  • A Realo
  • N Reátegui
  • J-P Rolland
  • J Rossier
  • W Ruch
  • V S Rus
  • M L Sánchez-Bernardos
  • V Schmidt
  • S Sciculna-Calleja
  • A Sekowski
  • J Shakespeare-Finch
  • Y Shimonaka
  • F Simonetti
  • T Sineshaw
  • J Siuta
  • P B Smith
  • P D Trapnell
  • K K Trobst
  • L Wang
  • M Yik
  • A Zupancic
  • R R McCrae
Most people hold beliefs about personality characteristics typical of members of their own and others' cultures. These perceptions of national character may be generalizations from personal experience, stereotypes with a "kernel of truth," or inaccurate stereotypes. We obtained national character ratings of 3989 people from 49 cultures and compared them with the average personality scores of culture members assessed by observer ratings and self-reports. National character ratings were reliable but did not converge with assessed traits. Perceptions of national character thus appear to be unfounded stereotypes that may serve the function of maintaining a national identity.
Original languageEnglish
JournalScience
Volume310
Issue number5745
Pages (from-to)96-100
Number of pages4
ISSN0036-8075
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2005

Bibliographical note

Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; Character; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Culture; Ethnic Groups; Female; Humans; Male; Personality; Personality Assessment; Questionnaires; Reproducibility of Results; Social Perception; Stereotyping

ID: 12945622