Autostereotyping and national identity in the Spanish context

This research deals with the concept of self-stereotyping, which is analysed in relation to the concepts of national identity and favouritism towards the ingroup. The hypothesis is that the stronger the identification with one’s nationality, the more positive will be the auto-stereotypes attributed to the national group. Furthermore, it is predicted that high levels of national identification are associated with an interdependent, rather than an independent, self-concept. We use the Spanish version of the European Opinion Survey (EOS), whose psychometric properties were tested. The questionnaire was completed by 263 Spanish students. Findings support the validity and reliability of EOS, even though the self-concept scale shows some problems concerned with construct validity. The two hypotheses tested were confirmed. In relation to auto-stereotyping, it was observed that the way in which the Spanish represent themselves has changed over a period of time, and that the trait “fun-loving” was indicated as particularly representative of the Spanish national population. These findings are quite different from those obtained by Sangrador in a study conducted in Spain in 1996, due both to the relevant political changes that have characterized Spain in the last few years, and to the particular comparative context elicited by the EOS. Stereotypes are not rigid structures, but depend on the context in which they take form. Keywords: Social identity; self concept; group behavior.