Effects of country size and language similarity on international attitudes: A six-nation study.

Autor/inn/en	Oudenhoven, Jan Pieter van; Selenko, Eva; Otten, Sabine
Titel	Effects of country size and language similarity on international attitudes: A six-nation study.
Quelle	In: International journal of psychology, 45 (2010) 1, S. 48-55Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; gedruckt; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0020-7594; 1464-066X
DOI	10.1080/00207590902914069
Schlagwörter	Soziale Identität; Attribution; Soziale Wahrnehmung; Fremdsprache; Muttersprache; Soziale Wahrnehmung; Sprache; Soziale Identität; Attribution; Ethnische Identität; Größe; Sprache; Fremdsprache; Muttersprache; Größe; Ethnische Identität; Internationale Beziehungen
Abstract	Investigated the effects of country size and language similarity on international attitudes in a 6-nation study. Linguistically similar neighboring nations that differ in size are often asymmetrical in their attitudinal relations toward each other: Citizens of smaller nations tend to see larger nations as less likable and less similar than vice versa. The authors hypothesized that the smaller nations' reaction is the consequence of a threatened identity due to its relative size combined with too much similarity on a vital part of its identity, namely, language. To test this hypothesis, 832 high-school students (mean age 17 years) from 6 different ethnic/national entities (France, Germany, Austria, the French- and German-speaking parts of Switzerland, the French- and Dutch-speaking parts of Belgium, and the Netherlands) completed a questionnaire on liking and similarity ratings. The results to a large extent showed that differences in size, in combination with linguistic similarity with another nation, pose a threat to the identity of the smaller nation or ethnic group. Differences in size, in combination with linguistic similarity, were associated with asymmetries in mutual liking on one hand and asymmetrical perceptions of similarity to the other country on the other hand. The conclusions of this study are consistent with findings of earlier research and stress the importance of language for a nation's identity. Moreover, the findings support social identity theory as a useful theory for understanding intergroup and international relations. (ZPID).
Erfasst von	Leibniz-Institut für Psychologie, Trier
Update	2011/2