TY - JOUR
T1 - What Do National Flags Stand for? An Exploration of Associations Across 11 Countries
AU - Becker, Julia C.
AU - Butz, David A.
AU - Sibley, Chris G.
AU - Barlow, Fiona Kate
AU - Bitacola, Lisa M.
AU - Christ, Oliver
AU - Khan, Sammyh S.
AU - Leong, Chan-Hoong
AU - Pehrson, Samuel
AU - Srinivasan, Narayanan
AU - Sulz, Aline
AU - Tausch, Nicole
AU - Urbanska, Karolina
AU - Wright, Steven C.
PY - 2017/1/12
Y1 - 2017/1/12
N2 - We examined the concepts and emotions people associate with their national flag, and how these associations are related to nationalism and patriotism across 11 countries. Factor analyses indicated that the structures of associations differed across countries in ways that reflect their idiosyncratic historical developments. Positive emotions and egalitarian concepts were associated with national flags across countries. However, notable differences between countries were found due to historical politics. In societies known for being peaceful and open-minded (e.g., Canada, Scotland), egalitarianism was separable from honor-related concepts and associated with the flag; in countries that were currently involved in struggles for independence (e.g., Scotland) and countries with an imperialist past (the United Kingdom), the flag was strongly associated with power-related concepts; in countries with a negative past (e.g., Germany), the primary association was sports; in countries with disruption due to separatist or extremist movements (e.g., Northern Ireland, Turkey), associations referring to aggression were not fully rejected; in collectivist societies (India, Singapore), obedience was linked to positive associations and strongly associated with the flag. In addition, the more strongly individuals endorsed nationalism and patriotism, the more they associated positive emotions and egalitarian concepts with their flag. Implications of these findings are discussed.
AB - We examined the concepts and emotions people associate with their national flag, and how these associations are related to nationalism and patriotism across 11 countries. Factor analyses indicated that the structures of associations differed across countries in ways that reflect their idiosyncratic historical developments. Positive emotions and egalitarian concepts were associated with national flags across countries. However, notable differences between countries were found due to historical politics. In societies known for being peaceful and open-minded (e.g., Canada, Scotland), egalitarianism was separable from honor-related concepts and associated with the flag; in countries that were currently involved in struggles for independence (e.g., Scotland) and countries with an imperialist past (the United Kingdom), the flag was strongly associated with power-related concepts; in countries with a negative past (e.g., Germany), the primary association was sports; in countries with disruption due to separatist or extremist movements (e.g., Northern Ireland, Turkey), associations referring to aggression were not fully rejected; in collectivist societies (India, Singapore), obedience was linked to positive associations and strongly associated with the flag. In addition, the more strongly individuals endorsed nationalism and patriotism, the more they associated positive emotions and egalitarian concepts with their flag. Implications of these findings are discussed.
U2 - 10.1177/0022022116687851
DO - 10.1177/0022022116687851
M3 - Article
JO - Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology
JF - Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology
SN - 0022-0221
ER -