German National Character: A Study of German Self-Images. Studies in Contemporary Cultures-B.

摘要

This report is a delineation of some aspects of German national character structure based on an analysis and interpretation of various German self-images and expressions of attitudes and beliefs about German culture and the world at large. It is a qualitative study of German cultural expectations about character and personality seen from several different points of view; the synthesis presented here is one that derives from an analysis of images -- some of them explicit, some of them implicit -- evoked by Germans' descriptions of themselves and by their interpretations of their own behavior and the behavior of others. For practical purposes, the emphasis of the study has been upon themes that appeared to be significant in personal and family life, and the types of material chosen for analysis were selected for their relevance to this general subject.