Cross-Cultural Perceptions of Johnson and Kosygin

Abstract

Using the Activity Vector Analysis (AVA), an adjective check list for measuring self-concept, cross-cultural perceptions were obtained of President Johnson and Premier Kosygin. The three cultures involved in the study were American, Indian, and German. Ss were graduate students at the Universities of Rhode Island (U.S.A.), Panjab (India), and Hamburg (Germany). For the German Ss a German form of the AVA was used. Data were analyzed on the basis of compatibility with three stereotyped personality profiles obtained in earlier studies. These were (1) public perception of Nikita Khrushchev, (2) ideal U.S. President's image, and (3) personality profiles of self-made company presidents in the U.S. There was consensual agreement among Ss of different nationalities, except for the Indian students' perceptions of Kosygin. The Indian Ss as a group perceived Kosygin as possessing a personality structure consistent with the American perception of the ideal U.S. President, and personality traits which are relatively unrelated to both the public image of Khrushchev and the personalities of company presidents. All Ss agreed in that their perception of Johnson was highly related both to the public image of Khrushchev and the personalities of the company presidents and rather unrelated to the ideal U.S. President stereotype.