National Stereotypes as a Function of Conflict and Territorial Proximity: A Test of the Mirror Image Hypothesis

Abstract
In a test of the mirror image hypothesis, data were obtained from 429 men and women college students in Colombia and Venezuela on an open-ended questionnaire and a semantic differential. Ss evaluated own- and other-country nationals, as well as other Latin American countries. A mirror image phenomenon was found in the semantic differential part but not in the open-ended format. Results are discussed in terms of the mirror image hypothesis as a function of territorial proximity and conflict but only within the evaluative dimensions of a stereotype.