The inaccuracy of national character stereotypes

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. Fil: McCrae, Robert R.. No especifica; Fil: Chan, Wayne. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Jussim, Lee. Rutgers University; Estados Unidos Fil: De Fruyt, Filip. University of Ghent; Bélgica Fil: Löckenhoff, Corinna E.. Cornell University; Estados Unidos Fil: Leibovich, Nora Blanca. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Schmidt, Vanina Ines. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Miramontez, Daniel R.. San Diego Community College District. Office of Institutional Research and Planning; Estados Unidos Fil: Benet Martínez, Veronica. Universitat Pompeu Fabra; España. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats; España Fil: Rossier, Jérôme. Universite de Lausanne; Suiza Fil: Bratko, Denis. University of Zagreb; Croacia Fil: Marušić, Iris. Institute for Social Research in Zagreb; Croacia Fil: Halberstadt, Jamin. University of Otago; Nueva Zelanda Fil: Yamaguchi, Mami. University of Otago; Nueva Zelanda Fil: Knežević, Goran. Belgrade University; Serbia Fil: Purić, Danka. Belgrade University; Serbia Fil: Martin, Thomas A.. Susquehanna University; Estados Unidos Fil: Gheorghiu, Mirona. Queens University; Reino Unido Fil: Smith, Peter B.. University Of Sussex; Reino Unido Fil: Barbaranelli, Claudio. La Sapienza University; Italia Fil: Wang, Lei. Peking University; China Fil: Shakespeare Finch, Jane. Queensland University of Technology; Australia Fil: Lima, Margarida P.. Universidad de Coimbra; Portugal Fil: Klinkosz, Waldemar. John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin; Polonia Fil: Sekowskil, Andrzej. John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin; Polonia Fil: Alcalay, Lidia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile Fil: Simonetti, Franco. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile Fil: Avdeyeva, Tatyana V.. University of St. Thomas; Estados Unidos Fil: Pramila, V. S.. Andhra Pradesh. Visakhapatnam; India Fil: Terracciano, Antonio. Florida State University College of Medicine; Estados Unidos