Do We Think Differently About People and Things Far Away?

People develop attitudes toward objects, other people, and events. For example, we like one person but not another, or we prefer one style of music over other types. Often, our attitudes are based on learning from previous experiences. For example, if you meet someone and they are friendly, you are likely to develop a positive attitude toward that person. People tend to generalize what they have learned, which means they expect similar people to behave the same way. For example, you would probably expect the friendly person’s friends to be friendly as well. But does it matter if the person you meet is from another country or your own country? In this article, we will review findings showing that, when people learn about distant things, such as a product imported from a faraway country, they are more likely to generalize their attitudes. We will explain why this happens and how it relates to stereotypes.