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Social Representations of Events and People in World History Across 12 Cultures

Victoria University of Wellington

Rebekah Goldstein-Hawes

Victoria University of Wellington

Denis Hilton

University of Toulouse II

Li-Li Huang

TamKang University

Cecilia Gastardo-Conaco

University of the Philippines

Emma Dresler-Hawke

Massey University

Florence Pittolo

University of Nice

Ying-Yi Hong

University of Illinois

Colleen Ward

Victoria University of Wellington

Sheela Abraham

University of Malaya

Yoshihisa Kashima

University of Melbourne

Emiko Kashima

Swinburne University of Technology

Megumi M. Ohashi

University of Tokyo

Masaki Yuki

Hokkaido University

Yukako Hidaka

Japan

Social representations of world history were assessed using the open-ended questions, "What are the most important events in world history?" and "Who are the most influential persons in world history in the last 1,000 years?"Data from six Asian and six Western samples showed cross-cultural consensus. Historical representations were (a) focused on the recent past, (b) centered around politics and war, and (c) dominated by the events of the World Wars and (d) the individual Hitler, who was universally perceived as negative. (e) Representations were more Eurocentric than ethnocentric.(f) The importance of economics and science was underrepresented.(g) Most cultures nominated people (more than events) idiosyncratic to their own culture. These data reflect power relations in the world and provide resources and constraints for the conduct of international relations. The degree of cross-cultural consensus suggests that hybridity across Eastern and Western cultures in the representation of knowledge may be underestimated.

Key Words: collective remembering • globalization • social representations • ethnocentrism • Eurocentrism • ingroup favoritism

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 36, No. 2, 171-191 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0022022104272900


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