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Pointing the way to a fictional place: A study of direction giving in Iran and England
Author(s) -
Collett Peter,
O'shea Gregory
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2420060404
Subject(s) - psychology , nationality , social psychology , relation (database) , significant difference , value (mathematics) , impression formation , class (philosophy) , social perception , epistemology , perception , immigration , law , statistics , neuroscience , political science , computer science , philosophy , mathematics , database
This study was concerned with the popular impression that Near Easterners will give directions to a place even if they do not know its whereabouts. It confirmed the hypothesis that significantly more Iranians than English people will give directions to a fictional place, and offered experimental evidence to show that this cultural difference could not be explained in terms of the greater mischievousness of Iranians. Instead, it was suggested that the difference in behaviour between Iranians and English people could be traced to a difference in value systems. The study examined direction giving, avoidance of the experimenters, and time spent with experimenters in relation to nationality, sex and social class.