The Character of Nations and National Stereotypes

Hunyady, Gyorgy

Do individual nations have a character and how is it possible to describe this character scientifically? Are the stereotypes we formulate about other nations important in our lives? Is there truth in such stereotypes and when must we talk of prejudices instead?
In the 19th century 'nation characterology', the study of the characteristics of various nations, was born. This was replaced at the beginning of the 20th century by a sub-discipline: scientific stereotype research.
A stereotype is a belief or expectation related to a group, which anticipates and practically frames personal experiences with members of those groups. Accordingly, not the national characteristics but perceptions of them are to be researched. The frequent and unavoidable use of stereotypes is generally related to the psychological mechanisms of human cognition.
Some argue that it is questionable whether we can talk of nations at all; according to sceptics national cohesion exists merely on a subjective level. If indeed nations do exist and if they differ from each other, what are the scientific methods to be used to measure these differences? Cultural comparative psychology tries to answer this question by searching for systematic differences in the psychological characteristics of people and groups living in different cultures.

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