Ethnocentrism and Perceptions of the Quality of Home Country and Foreign Artwork: A Comparison of English and Hungarian Art Visitors

Abstract

Interviews were conducted with members of the general public in London (England) and Budapest (Hungary) who reported that they visited art galleries. The aim was to ascertain (a) respondents’ levels of ethnocentric tendency and (b) possible connections between ethnocentrism in relation to domestic and foreign artwork and certain personal traits. Participants’ attitudes towards particular countries, their socio-demographic backgrounds and the degree of their involvement with the arts (i.e. a proxy of "product necessity" in the arts domain) were explored. Additionally, possible linkages between ethnocentric tendency, perceptions of the artworks of various kinds of country (i.e., culturally similar or dissimilar), and an individual ’s intentions to visit art galleries featuring work by artists from these types of country were examined.