Perceptions of heroes across cultures: a multi-method analysis

The study of heroes and heroism has garnered increasing attention within psychology. Despite this interest, research focusing on the lay perception of heroes in non-Western contexts remains sparse. This thesis aims to bridge the gap by exploring cultural variations in the perception of heroes and understanding the underlying mechanisms across different cultures. Specifically, Chapter 2 presents a scoping review of empirical studies on heroes and heroism. This review provides a clear understanding of the current state of research, points out areas that need further exploration, emphasis the variety of approaches used in studying heroism, and, more importantly, identifies gaps in research in non-Western contexts. Chapter 3 explores the similarities and differences in the perception of heroes and the influence of cultural values (individualistic vs. collectivistic) on perceptions of different types of heroes, highlighting how cultural backgrounds shape how individuals evaluate heroism.Chapter 4 employs computational methods alongside traditional qualitative approaches to examine the representations of frontline workers (i.e., those regarded as frontline heroes) during the COVID-19 pandemic across online news articles and social media platforms. Chapter 5 investigates how different thinking styles (holistic vs. analytic) influence the perception of heroes exhibiting varying levels of patriotic behavior across cultures, as well as the influence of patriotism on the perception of those targets. Building on the methodologies employed in previous chapters, Chapter 6 demonstrates theoretical, empirical, and practical reasons why prototype analyses are an important tool in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary research, while also addressing the potential for reducing construct bias in research that spans multiple cultural contexts. Taken together, this thesis enhances our understanding of how heroes are perceived and represented across different cultures and contexts, laying a solid foundation for future research. This work also advocates for methodological diversity and cultural sensitivity in studying complex social phenomena like heroism, thereby advancing the field of cross-cultural psychology.