Australians are fine at criticising themselves but can’t cop the same comments from outsiders, a University of Queensland study reveals.
We’re ultra-defensive when it comes to criticism from non-Australians and this is the case regardless of whether or not a foreigner has spent time in Australia.
Part of the reason we’re defensive in the face of criticism from outsiders is that we’re suspicious of their motives.
Dr Matthew Hornsey, a social psychologist from UQ, conducted the study by showing Australians a written transcript of an interview.
In it, the speaker said Australians were intolerant of Asians, racist toward Aborigines and uncultured.
When the comments were attributed to an Australian, most respondents agreed with the criticisms, with only five percent strongly disagreeing.
But when the same comments were attributed to an English critic, half the respondents strongly disagreed and only a small sample agreed.
The English critic was also seen to be less likable and aroused more negative emotion than did the Australian critic.
Dr Hornsey said foreigners could not overcome this defensiveness even if they could show they knew what they were talking about.
“If criticisms were attributed to a foreigner who had spent several years living and working in Australia they faced just as much defensiveness as foreigners who had never set foot in the country,” Dr Hornsey said.
“Ultra-defensiveness in the face of criticism from outsiders doesn’t seem to be an objective response to the qualifications or experience of the critic, but something deeper and more psychological.”
Similar research has been conducted not just on Australians, but on a range of groups, including Queenslanders, Muslims and university students.
In each case Dr Hornsey detected a strong sense of “It’s ok if we say it, but they can’t”, a phenomenon he calls the intergroup sensitivity effect.
“The notion that criticism will be judged on its content alone is naïve, as people factor in not just what you’re saying but also who you are, your history and your group memberships.”
He said suspicion about motive was what caused this defensiveness in the face of criticism from outsiders.
“When criticisms are made by insiders people assume the critic made the comments with the best interests of the group at heart, but when outsiders make the same comments people assume they’re trying to be destructive.”
Dr Hornsey believes this research has serious real-world implications.
“Whether it be a country violating human rights, workplaces getting slack, farmers running down the environment or academics becoming out of touch with society . . . Occasionally groups need a nudge along from outsiders to help them pick up their game and reform their culture.
“In many cases criticism of a group from the outside is warranted, and acceptance of the criticism a prerequisite for progress.
“But according to my research we are super-quick to reject criticism from outsiders, even where they have a legitimate basis.”
The results of his latest study are published in this month’s edition of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
For more information contact: Dr Matthew Hornsey (07 3365 6378, matthewh@psy.uq.edu.au) or Miguel Holland at UQ Communications (07 3365 2619 m.holland@uq.edu.au)
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