MYTHOLOGICAL ETHNOCENTRISM AS A DETERMINANT OF INTERNATIONAL ATTITUDES.

The article focuses on mythological ethnocentrism as a determinant of international attitudes (IA). Ethnocentrism refers to the tendency to use the attitudes, beliefs, and customs of one's own nation or culture as the bases for judging other nations or groups. People who are most ethnocentric are also more prone to believe their society's myths, adhere to perceived norms more rigidly, and expect others to do the same, have simpler cognitive structure, and are less tolerant of ambiguity. If the individual's own nation's history and values are misperceived and/or idealized, a mythological frame of reference is used in making judgments about other nations' behaviors. Such a process can be called mythological ethnocentrism. Two tests which consisted of 25 items each dealing with knowledge of American history (AH) and corresponding IA were constructed. Formulation of the corresponding items on the tests was guided by the hypothesis of mythological ethnocentrism. Subjects indicated their responses to the items on a five-point Likert scale from true to false on the AH test and from agree to disagree on the IA test.