The Assessment of National Stereotypes: A Methodological Study

Abstract

The effect of instructions on judgments of German students concerning national stereotypes was assessed. Focus of stereotype (typical individual/whole group), nature of judgment (extent/percentage/probability), and nationality were manipulated in a 2 × 3 × 5 design, with repeated measures on the third factor. Instructions had no effect on ratings of content, certainty, or uniformity of stereotypes, but percentage-based stereotypes were significantly less intense (p<.01). All three levels of the second instructions factor were highly correlated with liking for the national groups, but not so clearly with similarity and contact. Overall, the subjects viewed the stereotyping task negatively, especially in the probability condition (p<.025).