NATIONAL character stereotypes such as the reserved and staid Englishman with a stiff upper lip are not founded on even a kernel of truth, according to the most comprehensive international study of its kind.

While nationalities do have broad tendencies towards particular character traits, these are usually very different from those generally considered typical of a culture, an investigation of 49 groups all over the world has found.

The English are the most misunderstood of all. While commonly seen as reserved, quiet and set in their ways, they are actually among the most extroverted and open to new experiences of any of the groups studied, according to Robert McCrae, of the US National Institute on Ageing, who led the research.

“The English are also seen as rather conventional and closed-minded, but are relatively open compared to other groups. You are a great example of just how wrong national stereotypes tend to be,” he said.

The findings, from a team of 84 psychologists and published today in the journal Science, offer the strongest evidence yet that national stereotypes are not grounded in observations of real individuals, but are cultural myths. They can have some value in maintaining a sense of national identity, but are useless for predicting the likely character of any individual, the scientists say.

“In the case of gender stereotypes, widely held stereotypes are consistent with — although they may exaggerate — assessed personality differences between men and women,” Dr McCrae said. “That kernel-of-truth hypothesis does not appear to apply to national character. National stereotypes can provide some information about a culture, but they do not describe people.

“In fact, unfavourable stereotypes are potentially very dangerous, forming the bases for prejudice, discrimination, persecution, or even genocide.”

In the research, Dr McCrae estimated the average levels of particular traits in each of 49 cultures, using standard personality surveys that assess people on key variables. These are neuroticism, extroversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness.

Another 3,989 people — which included groups from England and Northern Ireland but not the Scottish or the Welsh — were then asked to describe typical members of their own nationalities.

There were a few positive correlations: most Australians, considered themselves highly extroverted, and this was backed up by the personality tests. German-speaking Swiss also rightly saw themselves as very conscientious.

Most of the stereotype assessments differed markedly from the results of the personality tests. Americans tended to consider themselves assertive and Canadians submissive, but both groups scored similarly on this variable, at slightly above the international average.

Czechs thought of their nationality as antagonistic and disagreeable, when the research found them to be among the friendliest of all cultures. Indians thought themselves highly open to experience, when the personality data suggested that they were more conventional than the rest of the world.

Dr McCrae now plans to lead a similar investigation of attitudes towards the elderly. “We are all prone to these kinds of preconceptions and likely to believe that they are justified by our experience, when in fact they are often unfounded stereotypes,” he said.

“We need to see people as individuals, whether they are Americans or Lebanese, Gen-Xers or senior citizens.”

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