Americans are Barbarians or Allies? Images of Americans in the Italian Social Context

Image theory was tested in the context of Italian/American relationships. Participants were Italian students. In addition to the images of ally, barbarian, imperialist, enemy, a new image was suggested: that of father. We predicted that political orientation would affect the structural perceptions (goal compatibility, relative power, relative status), and, as a consequence, the image of Americans: right-wing participants should prefer the images of father and ally, while left-wing participants should associate Americans with barbarian. Findings generally supported our predictions; also the figure of father obtained some support. The theoretical and practical implications of results are discussed.