National psychology

National psychology refers to the (real or alleged) distinctive psychological make-up of particular nations, ethnic groups or peoples, and to the comparative study of those characteristics in social psychology, sociology, political science and anthropology. National psychology refers to the (real or alleged) distinctive psychological make-up of particular nations, ethnic groups or peoples, and to the comparative study of those characteristics in social psychology, sociology, political science and anthropology. The assumption of national psychology is that different ethnic groups, or the people living in a national territory, are characterized by a distinctive 'mix' of human attitudes, values, emotions, motivation and abilities which is culturally reinforced by language, the family, schooling, the state and the media. According to the German pioneer psychologist Wilhelm Wundt, the attempt to theorize scientifically about national psychology dates from the mid-19th century . In post-1871 Germany, but especially during the Third Reich, some German professors of linguistics and literature tried to influence English studies with a politically motivated 'cultural science', which Ernst Leisi called the 'Nationalpsychologische Methode.' This paradigm presented a new view of contemporary and past English, on the basis of analogies drawn between specific linguistic traits, practices and constituents of the English (and German) national character. But in reality it amounted to little more than a repetition of preconceived notions of otherness. Around 1900, national psychology had become an accepted topic of study in the social sciences, at universities in Europe and North America. National psychology plays a role in politics via the ideology of nationalism. Politicians will appeal e.g. to 'the French people', 'the American people', the 'Russian people', the idea being that members of a nation have a common national identity, are part of a national community, and share common interests (the 'national interest'). Politicians must try to unify and integrate people to work together for common goals, and appealing to their common national characteristics is often part of that. Closely related is the idea of the national character which refers to the values, norms and customs which people of a nation typically hold, their typical emotional responses, and what they regard as virtue and vice - all factors which determine how they will habitually respond to situations. Nationalism aims to unite people as members of a nation, and for that purpose, the belief that they really have common national characteristics is obviously useful, even if those common characteristics cannot be proved beyond a shared language and a similar physical appearance. Friendly rivalry between national sports teams is often used to symbolize national identity, or to express patriotism. For example, in South Africa sport is 'the national religion. Transcending race, politics or language group, sport unites the country – and not just the male half of it.'