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Estonian national stereotypes in transition

Chapter · January 2005

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3011.0165

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Estonian national stereotypes in transition
Hille Pajupuu

Introduction
The goal of this study is to find out the extent and direction of transformation over the
past 13 years in the view of Estonians about their own nation (autostereotypes) and about
the Finns (heterostereotypes). The empirical data are the results of stereotype surveys
conducted in 1991/1992, 1996/1997 and 2002/2003/2004, using identical questionnaires.

Available for 1991/1992 and 1996/1997 are some data on Finnish introspection about the
Estonians (heterostereotypes) and their own nation (autostereotypes), the author therefore
ventures some speculations concerning the accuracy of the stereotypes held by Estonians
and Finns.

Theoretical foundations of the study

Stereotypes are beliefs about characteristics, attributes, and behaviours of members of
certain groups (Hilton & von Hippel 2003). In intergroup relations heterostereotypes refer
to one group’s view of another group, while autostereotypes refer to a group’s view of
itself.

The main goal of this work is to show what has happened to Estonian national
stereotypes during the past 13 years. The study focuses both on Estonians’
autostereotypes and on Estonians’ heterostereotypes, in this case the Estonians view of
Finns.

Although stereotypes have a tendency to persist, they nevertheless change, under certain
conditions. The changes in national stereotypes are brought about by social and political
development (Haarmann 2003). However, they also occur through the deepening of
direct contacts between ethnic groups (McAndrew et al. 2000; McGrady & McGrady
1976; Triandis & Vassilou 1967).

The present studies on stereotypes embrace significant shifts in the political and social
life witnessed in Estonia during the period 1991–2004. Estonia, which was occupied by
Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 1
Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
the Soviet Union, regained its independence on 20 August 1991. Prior to that event,
Estonians’ freedom of cross-border movement was severely hampered. For instance,
travel to the neighbouring country of Finland (80 km by sea) had to be accomplished via
St. Petersburg or Moscow, provided you were trustworthy enough to a travel permit.
Hence, a trip of a couple of hours lengthened to a voyage of a couple of days, creating the
impression that Finland was geographically very distant from Estonia. Contacts between
Estonians and Finns were infrequent and were mainly limited to personal relations. At the
same time, on the northern coast of Estonia, people quietly enjoyed Finnish TV
programmes, which were not jammed, and were able to develop a general picture of life
in Finland and the Finns.

After independence was regained, contacts with the Finns grew steadily. Finns visited
Estonia and Estonians Finland. Many Estonians, who had earlier seen Finns on television
only, had now an opportunity to see Finnish tourists on a daily basis. The Finns too
obtained the opportunity to make closer acquaintance with their cognate people. As a
result of the more frequent maritime traffic between Tallinn and Helsinki, which began in
1995, the number of visitors arriving from Finland grew dramatically. (Cf. Figure 1)

Finns Estonians

1400000
1200000
1000000
800000
600000
400000
200000
0

year

Figure 1. Finns in Estonia and Estonians in Finland, by tourist agency (numerical data
from Tourism 2004)

Studies have shown that the rate of contacts has a direct impact on stereotypes: in case of
few or non-existent contacts the heterostereotypes formed are moderate or very
Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 2
Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
favourable. It is rare for subjects to say something negative about people with whom they
have had no contact. Conversely, groups with high contact seem freer to express negative
as well as positive opinions about each other (Nichols & McAndrew 1984, cf. also
McAndrew et al. 2000). Stereotypes seem also to be significantly affected by where the
contacts between ethnic groups occur, whether in their native land or abroad. The
visitors’ stereotypes about the host tend to be better than those of the host about the
visitor. (McAndrew 2001; Nichols & McAndrew 1984)

This study embraces a period, in which the contacts between Estonians and Finns were
intially scarge, and then, all of a sudden very intense. As figure 1 shows, the Estonians
have been hosts rather than visitors. These changes should be reflected in
heterostereotypes.

With the end of the Soviet occupation, Estonia set the twin goals of joining NATO and
acceding to the European Union. The rapid economic development of Estonia made
joining NATO and EU membership possible 2004. The breakthrough in social and
political life in Estonia, and the greater frequency of contacts with the Finns are expected
also to be reflected in Estonian national stereotypes.

In the comparison of auto- and heterostereotypes the scholars have highlighted the
circumstance that autostereotypes tend to be more positive than heterostereotypes (Hilton
& von Hippel 1996; Koomen & Bähler 1996). Even where heterostereotypes seem
objectively positive, they have been shown to have a more negative connotation than
autostereotypes (Esses et al. 1994, according to Hilton von Hippel 1996). All researchers
however have not reached the same conclusion. There are nations whose autostereotypes
are more negative than their heterostereotypes (cf. e.g. Kashima et al. 2003; McAndrew
et al. 2000; Lehtonen 1993).

How has the development of Estonia affected the positive-negative character of

stereotypes? That question, too, is tackled in this study.

The accuracy or validity of stereotypes is also of interest. One way to assess the accuracy
of stereotypes is to look at the match between heterostereotypes and autostereotypes. If

Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 3

Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
the heterostereotypes of a group (what outgroup members believe to be true) match the
autostereotype of that group (i.e. beliefs about one’s own group), the stereotype is
believed to be more accurate (McAndrew et al. 2000). Iwao and Triandis (1993) have
suggested that similarities in the ways in which two societies view social situations lead
to more valid heterostereotypes of each other, because people can use their own culture
as a guide in predicting the behaviour of people in the other society.

In the case of Estonia and Finland, we might assume that their cultures will be rather
similar. Using the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions for comparing cultures, we see that
Estonia and Finland are pegged very close on those dimensions: the power-distance index
for Estonia is 40, and for Finland 33; the uncertainty avoidance index for Estonia is 60,
and for Finland 59; the individualism index for Estonia is 60, and for Finland 63,
masculinity for Estonia is 30, and for Finland 26 (Hofstede 2001: 127, 151, 262, 286,
502). Hence the value estimates of Estonians and Finns should not show very large
differences, and the reciprocal stereotypes should therefore be more valid.

McAndrew (2001) acknowledges that in researches on stereotypes, widely discrepant

societies are not frequently treated (in linguistic and/or cultural and religious terms), and
therefore a necessary piece of the puzzle is stereotyping among cultures with both high
contacts and a common cultural heritage and history. Examples of such cultures are the
Estonians and the Finns, neighbouring people with cognate languages and frequent
contacts throughout their history. This stereotype study of Estonians and Finns attempts
to look at how the results of studies of cultures, culturally and geographically farther
apart, will hold in this specific context. Support is sought to four hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1: The impact of social and political development will be reflected in a

change in Estonians’ auto- and heterostereotypes.

Hypothesis 2: The increase in direct contacts will be reflected in a change of Estonians’

heterostereotypes. Because the contacts mostly occur on Estonian, not on Finnish soil, the
Estonians heterostereotypes will be negative, rather than positive.

Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 4

Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
Hypothesis 3: Estonians autostereotypes will be more positive than their
heterostereotypes, i.e. people perceive their own group more favourably than they
perceive other groups (McAndrew et al. 2000).

Hypothesis 4: The views of Estonians and Finns as culturally similar peoples in contact
with each other will largely match, because they understand and know one another well.

Method
During the period 1991–2004, an opinion survey was conducted three times: 1991/1992
(first round), 1996/1997 (second round) and 2002/2003/2004 (third round). Those
surveyed were people with higher education or college undergraduates (students, faculty
members, researchers). In the first round, the questionnaire was filled out by
160 Estonians, in the second one by 150 Estonians and in the third by 152 Estonians,
aged 20+. 20%–25% of the respondents participated in all three rounds. Hence the groups
surveyed are highly comparable. The results reflect the attitudes of people with above
average education. According to the 2000 census, 47% Estonians1 have education
ranging between secondary and higher education (Census 2000).

In all three rounds of the survey, the questionnaires devised by Lehtonen (1994) were
used. The subjects were asked to characterize, using three freely selected adjectives, their
own nation “We Estonians are …” (autostereotype) and the Finns “In the opinion of
Estonians the Finns are…” (heterostereotype).

In 1991/1992 and 1996/1997 Lehtonen and Pajupuu studied, analogically also the
autostereotypes of Finns and their heterostereotypes, the opinion of Finns about the
Estonians. The respondents were Finns in or already possessing higher education. In the
first round of the survey they were 160, and in the second 150. (For the results of
1991/1992 see Lehtonen 1993; Pajupuu 1995.) The 1996/1997 results have not
previously been published earlier but they are used in this study to determine the
accuracy of stereotypes of Estonians and Finns.

The properties offered as auto- and heterostereotypes in each round of the survey were
ranked by frequency of occurrence. 10 properties, showing nearly consensual agreement,

1
counted have been those of 10 and older
Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 5
Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
were recorded in tables 1–3. The first five items were properties which had strong intra-
group agreement (i.e. properties shared by every 2nd–10th respondent), the next five
items were properties, which had moderate intra-group agreement (properties were
shared by every 11th–20th respondent). The study discarded properties which had no
intra-group agreement because, with the agreement lacking, we cannot talk about group
stereotypes. When characterizing one’s own nation isolated opinions accounted for
~ 20%, and when characterizing the other nation they constituted ~ 30% of all properties
offered.

Table 4 shows the strong agreement auto- and heterostereotypes for the year 2004.

The ranked properties were noted as positive (+), negative (-) or neutral (+/-) according to
their connotation in the respondents’ culture, when characterizing the nation.

Results
Estonian auto- and heterostereotypes 1991–2004
Presented in Tables 1–3 are the results of the three rounds of the survey. The Estonian
autostereotype consisted of five constant and stable properties: Estonians are, in their
own opinion hardworking, reticent, modest, ambitious and calm. Those properties are
among the 10 most frequently offered properties in all three rounds.

The 1996/1997 survey added to these five the properties proud and conservative, which
remained in the 2002/2003/2004 survey. Hence in the 2000s we may talk about the
Estonian autostereotype as embracing 7 constant properties. Three of them –
hardworking, reticent and modest have won strong agreement throughout the period
under survey.

Out of the 10 most common properties offered for the Estonian autostereotype, in the first
round 8 properties had a positive connotation, in the second round 6 (+ one neutral) and
in the third 7 (+ one neutral). Of the stable properties, only one had a negative undertone
– reticent. Hence, the Estonian autostereotypes have been and are positive.

Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 6

Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
The properties, which emerged in only one round and vanished in the next, might reflect
the political and economical developments witnessed in Estonia during that particular
round of the survey. The properties persistent, tenacious, level-headed which emerged in
the first round, could be the traits which helped the process of liberation from Soviet
Union; however, the so-called transient properties that emerged in the second or the third
round can hardly be linked to specific times and circumstances. For instance, there is no
obvious explanation to envy, which emerged in the third round: this property might
reflect the growth of economical inequality. However, inequality has not increased in
Estonia over the past 8 years (cf. Gini 2004). Conceivably the emergence of such
commonly shared properties has been caused by impact of media.

Looking at results for 2004 separately, we see that five strongly shared properties are
reticent, hardworking, modest, ambitious, proud, of which ambitious and proud have
been elevated from the moderate agreement to the strong agreement group. Of the five
properties, 4 have a positive connotation. (See table 4)

The heterostereotype In the opinion of Estonians the Finns are … shows a rather more
complicated development than the Estonian autostereotype (tables 1–3). Across all the
rounds of the survey, only one property turned out to be stable, i.e. in the opinion of
Estonians the Finns are slow. This is also confirmed by the 2004 data (table 4).

In the first round of survey, out of the 10 most offered properties, 9 carried positive
connotations. However in the second round, the picture changed: out of the 10 properties,
9 carried a negative connotation. In the third round of the survey, properties with a
positive connotation were prevalent once again: 6 out of 10.

In the tables for both the second and third rounds we see the properties noisy,
drunkards/alcohol-prone, sociable. Of these, two have a negative connotation. In the
third round, however, three properties found in the first round of survey made their
appearance again: hardworking, kind and joyful. All three have a positive connotation.

Considering the 2004 table separately, we see a significant change in it: alcohol-prone
has disappeared from among the strong agreement properties among which it was

Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 7

Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
numbered in the previous surveys. From among the properties with a negative
connotation, only noisy and slow have stayed put. Hence the 2004 heterostereotype
includes, of all the properties manifested in the three surveys, the property slow, two
properties which started in the two later surveys (noisy and sociable), and two properties
which were found in the first survey but vanished in the second survey (hardworking and
kind). The Estonian heterostereotype of the Finns is at present rather positive. (See Table
4)

These heterostereotypes reflect the changes in mutual contacts between Estonians and
Finns: during the first survey, direct contacts were lacking for all practical purposes,
immediately before the second survey they became, all of a sudden dramatically more
frequent and have remained on the same level up to the present. Meetings mostly
happened and continue to do so on the Estonian soil. (Cf. Figure 1) Heterostereotypes are
in line with that change: the predominantly positive stereotypes of the period of the first
survey transform, when direct contacts appear, into negative ones; As the contacts
continue and the counterparts gain familiarity with one another, the stereotypes again
become positive, although not to the extent they were during the period when direct
contacts were lacking. Hence Hypothesis 2 is supported : the increase in direct contacts is
manifested in a change in the Estonian heterostereotypes. When Estonian-Finnish
communication became direct and occurred on Estonian soil, the heterostereotypes
became more negative.

Hypothesis 1 finds only partial support: in the case of the heterostereotypes it is true that
changes in them reflect the social and political changes in Estonia. In the case of
autostereotypes, that cannot be asserted: the Estonian autostereotype is very stable, even
large social and political changes do not create significant shifts in it.

When comparing the positive-negative character of the auto- and heterostereotypes, the
first survey found the Estonian autostereotype to be slightly more negative than the
heterostereotype. In all the subsequent surveys the Estonian autostereotype was more
positive than the heterostereotype. Hence Hypothesis 3 meets with partial support:
Estonian autostereotypes are, in the second and third surveys more positive than
heterostereotypes. However, this is not the case in the first survey, when direct contacts
Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 8
Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
between Estonians and Finns were lacking for all practical purposes. Consequently, the
hypothesis applies in situations when direct contacts exist between nations.

Table 1. Estonian auto- and heterostereotypes 1991/1992

The common properties emerging in all three rounds of the survey are shown in bold,
common properties emerging in the first and third surveys are shown in caps.
Level of agreement We, the Estonians are In the opinion of Estonians the
Finns are
hardworking + HARDWORKING +
reticent - slow -
Strong intra-group
cold - proud +
agreement
modest + friendly +
tenacious + quiet +
conscientious + KIND +
level-headed + decent +
Moderate intra-group
ambitious + conscientious +
agreement
persistent + JOYFUL +
calm + simple +
+8 +9
Table 2. Estonian auto- and heterostereotypes 1996/1997
The common properties emerging in all three rounds of the survey are shown in bold. The
common properties emerging in the second and third rounds of survey are shown in
italics.
Level of agreement We, the Estonians are In the opinion of Estonians the
Finns are
hardworking + noisy -
reticent - drunkards -
Strong intra-group modest + sociable +
agreement stubborn - of too high opinion of -
themselves
reserved + greedy -
proud + slow -
conservative +/- styleless -
Moderate intra-group
egoists - stupid -
agreement
calm + reticent -
ambitious + dim-witted -
+6 -9

Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 9

Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
Table 3. Estonian auto- and heterostereotypes 2002/2003/2004
The common properties emerging in all rounds of survey are shown in bold. The common
properties emerging in the second and third rounds of survey are shown in italics. The
common properties emerging in the first and third rounds of survey are shown in caps.
Level of agreement We, the Estonians are In the opinion of Estonians the
Finns are
hardworking + noisy -
reticent - alcohol-prone -
Strong intra-group
modest + slow -
agreement
smart + sociable +
proud + KIND +
ambitious + proud +
conservative +/- HARDWORKING +
Moderate intra-group
envious - JOYFUL +
agreement
kind + calm +
calm + self-conceited -
+7 +6

Table 4. Estonia auto- and heterostereotypes 2004

The common properties emerging in all rounds of survey are shown in bold. The common
properties emerging in the second and third rounds of survey are shown in italics. The
common properties emerging in the first and third rounds of survey are shown in caps.
Level of agreement We, the Estonians are In the opinion of Estonians the
Finns are
reticent - noisy -
hardworking + KIND +
Strong intra-group
modest + HARDWORKING +
agreement
ambitious + slow -
proud + sociable +
+4 +3

Accuracy of Estonian and Finnish stereotypes

In order to determine the accuracy (validity) of the Estonian and Finnish stereotypes we
compared the Estonian heterostereotypes with Finnish autostereotypes and Finnish
heterostereotypes with Estonian autostereotypes. Data were available for 1991/1992 and
1996/1997 (cf. Table 5 and 6) 2. In 1991/1992, out of 10 properties only one matches
reciprocally: hardworking. Finns consider themselves hardworking, Estonians are of the
same opinion of them. Estonians too consider themselves hardworking, and the Finns

2
The tables show the results of the surveys carried out in 1991/1992 and 1996/1997 by Jaakko Lehtonen
and Hille Paljupuu
Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 10
Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
wholly agree. In 1996/1997, there is a total mismatch between the Estonian
autostereotype and Finnish heterostereotype: among the 10 properties there is not a single
one in common. However, one property found in the Estonian heterostereotype matches a
property featured in the Finnish autostereotype, i.e. reticent.

Hence, more frequent contacts did not bring about a better understanding of each other in
1996/1997. Hypothesis 4 about an extensive match of reciprocal auto- and
heterostereotypes of nations culturally similar and in contact did not find support.

Table 5. Finns and Estonians about themselves and about one another in 1991/1992
The matching properties are showen in bold.
Level of We, the Finns, In the opinion of We, the In the opinion of
agreement are (Finnish Finns the Estonians are Estonians the
autostereotype) Estonians are (Estonian Finns are
(Finnish autostereotype) (Estonian
heterostereotype) heterostereotype)
hardworking friendly hardworking hardworking
Strong intra- envious patriotic reticent slow
group self-conscious hospitable cold proud
agreement upright subdued modest friendly
prejudiced musical tenacious quiet
stiff poor conscientious kind
Moderate tenacious hardworking level-headed decent
intra-group gloomy indolent ambitious conscientious
agreement selfish sensitive persistent joyful
complacent quick calm simple
Table 6. Finns and Estonians about themselves and one another in 1996/1997
The matching properties are showen in bold.
Level of We, the Finns, In the opinion of We, the In the opinion of
agreement are (Finnish Finns the Estonians are Estonians the
autostereotype) Estonians are (Estonian Finns are
(Finnish autostereotype) (Estonian
heterostereotype) heterostereotype)
upright friendly hardworking noisy
hardworking poor reticent drunkards
Strong intra- quiet kindred modest sociable
group self-conscious devious, crooked stubborn of too high
agreement opinion of
themselves
friendly enterprising reserved greedy
Moderate reliable sluggish proud slow
Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 11
Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
intra-group tenacious joyful conservative styleless
agreement modest pleasant egoists stupid
reticent doleful calm reticent
envious stylish ambitious dim-witted

Discussion
Diachronic treatment of Estonian national stereotypes shows that while the
autostereotypes are largely preserved, the heterostereotype undergoes modifications. The
Estonian autostereotype, which was clearly positive in 1991/1992, continued to be so,
while the heterostereotype changed, in the period under survey, from extremely positive
to extremely negative and thereafter to moderately positive.

The positive autostereotype of occupied Estonia in 1991 contrasts with the Finnish
negative autostereotype during the same period. Lehtonen (1993) explains it in the
following way:

Estonia and Finland differ from one another: the mirror of the Estonians is in the
East, that of the Finns in the West. /---/ Although in the cultural history of Estonia
the influence of Germany has been impressive, Estonia is still faces towards the
East. /---/ The Estonian builds his national identity against the mirror image of
the Russians. As compared with the Russians the Estonian thinks he is
hardworking, ambitious, consistent and enterprising. The strongly positive image
of Estonia of the Estonians was born in comparison with the culture of the
Russians experienced both beyond the frontier and in their own environment.
Although the Russians have, like the Germans, represented those in power, the
Russians have not been perceived in like manner as spiritually dominating.

During the time that Estonia belonged to the Soviet Union, the Estonians compared
themselves with Russians, creating for themselves a positive autostereotype. Now,
however, the mirror of the Estonians should be located in the West, like that of Finland.
The picture derived from facing the West must thus be very different from the earlier
one: the successful western republic of the former SU has become a promising, however
economically somewhat backward, eastern state of the EU. Such shift of position might

Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 12

Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
be expected to be reflected in a change in the Estonian autostereotype. However, the
outcome of this study does not corroborate that surmise – the Estonian autostereotype
continues to be positive. Is Lehtonen’s supposition about the Estonians mirror in the East
valid at all in view of the fact that the Estonians autostereotype has remained practically
unchanged during the reversal of the mirror?

Hilton & von Hippel (1996) admit that stereotypes may change, in certain conditions.
However, they also emphasise that stereotypes have a tendency to maintain themselves.
They say that the way that we process information is heavily influenced by information
that we have previously encountered. Prior experience determines what we see and hear,
how we interpret that information, and how we store it for later use (Sedikides &
Skowronski 1991, after Hilton & von Hippel 1996). If the subsequent experience
contradicts the previous information, we will deem the earlier information more correct.
It is therefore possible that the Estonian positive autostereotype did in fact emerge in
comparison with the Russians and that it is retained also when the reflection from
elsewhere provided different information.

This research does not shed light on whether autostereotypes also retain when they are
negative, or whether negative autostereotypes are more easily subject to changes. The
results seem to suggest, however, that autostereotypes operate differently from
heterostereotypes. Although heterostereotypes are said to reflect the current inter-group
relations (Kashima et al. 2003), they should be more easily subject to changes than
autostereotypes. Hilton & von Hippel (1996) have highlighted 4 models of stereotype
change, supported by various research results:

The bookkeeping model posits that stereotypes are updated incrementally. Each
inconsistency that is processed leads to a small change in the stereotype. The
conversion model (Rothbart 1981) posits that stereotype change occurs in a
dramatic fashion, but only after some critical level of inconsistency has been
encountered. The sub-typing model (Brewer et al 1981) posits that inconsistent
information is simply recategorized under a new subsidiary classification.

Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 13

Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
 Finally, exemplar-based models assume that stereotypes consist of
representations of specific individuals (Smith & Zarate 1992).

What has remained difficult has been to specify the conditions under which each model is
likely to apply. The Estonian heterostereotype change may have been realized by sub-
typing. In 1991/1992, the Estonian stereotype of a Finn was formed mainly with the help
of Finnish state TV. Because media-controlled persons are mostly interesting and
intelligent, an extremely positive stereotype of Finns evolved.

In 1996/1997, the picture of a Finn became more variegated. A multitude of Finnish

tourists arrived in Estonia. It was evident that these Finns fell far short of those on TV –
there were drunken, raucous, styleless Finns, Finns of too high opinion of themselves etc.
New sub-stereotypes started to mask the uniform stereotype of the Finn.

By the time of the survey 2002/2003/2004, the Estonian-Finnish contacts had undergone
considerable changes: there were Finns enrolled in Estonian higher education, and Finns
who had settled and started to work in Estonia. Beside the tourists (who behave in a
strange country like tourists usually do), a positive Finnish image emerged, once again,
giving rise to new sub-stereotypes. Hence, the stereotype of the Finn has, as against the
first round of the survey, become much more complicated: there is no longer a single
uniform Finnish stereotype – a positive Finn –, but many sub-stereotypes of Finns, which
are applied as the occasion demands.

Nor can stereotype change after the conversion model be excluded, in particular between
the two first surveys, when the stereotype of an extremely positive Finn became a
stereotype of an extremely negative Finn. This is the period when there was a surge in the
number of Finnish tourists. The constant opposition between the current stereotype of the
Finn and the actual Finn seen could have created an inter-stereotype conflict, in the
course of which one stereotype was substituted for the other. A single, uniform,
extremely positive stereotype of a Finn became a single, uniform, extremely negative
stereotype of a Finn. Sub-typing, however would account better for the change in
heterostereotype between the second and the third rounds of the survey, because the

Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 14

Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
changes in the composition of the Finns visiting Estonia occurred smoothly, not in
sudden bounds. Instead of a single, uniform, negative stereotype of a Finn, several
positive and negative substereotypes have made their appearance, reflecting the changed
reality.

In this research, the validity of stereotypes was determined in the way described by
McAndrew et al. (2000): stereotypes are more valid, when the reciprocal
heterostereotypes of two nations match the autostereotypes of those nations. In the case
of Estonians and Finns, data for reciprocal heterostereotypes and for autostereotypes of
both nations were available from 1991/1992 and 1996/1997. Lacking were data for
Finnish auto- and heterostereotypes from 2002/2003/2004. Hence the match of reciprocal
stereotypes could only be observed for 1991/1992 and 1996/1997. In the first case
Estonians and Finns lacked direct contacts, in the second case they had been established.
The evidence in both cases showed an almost total mismatch of reciprocal auto- and
heterostereotypes. Therefore we were facing two options: either to consider the Estonian
and Finnish stereotypes as invalid or to admit that the method of determining their
validity does not apply in this particular case.

The diachronic study of Estonian heterostereotypes performed here shows that a

heterostereotype reflects the absence or existence of immediate contacts between two
nations. When contacts were lacking in 1991/1992, the picture of a Finn was media-
created. Consequently, the Estonian heterostereotype of a Finn could hardly be accurate.
The mismatch between the Estonian heterostereotype and Finnish autostereotype is to be
expected. When there are no contacts between two nations, mismatch would only suggest
that the heterostereotype is invalid, while not casting doubt on validity of the
autostereotype of the other nation.

When direct contacts grow, heterostereotypes adapt to the new information. An

opportunity then appears to determine the validity of heterostereotype and autostereotype
by reciprocal matches. When interpreting the present data, it should be kept in mind
where the contacts between the said two nations occur. Figure 1 shows that Estonian-
Finnish contacts predominantly take place on Estonian soil: Finns visit Estonia ~ 6 times

Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 15

Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
more often than Estonians visit Finland. Hence, when looking at the results of the second
round of the survey (1996/1997), what is in evidence is the Estonian heterostereotype of
the visitor-Finn. In 1996/1997, Estonia was a very cheap country, as compared with
Finland, and goods were available tax-free, which led to a plethora of shopping and
pleasure trips from Finland to Estonia. The visitors constituted a specific group, which
differed from that of the average Finn. Because Estonians visited Finland infrequently,
the heterostereotype about a Finn was formed mainly on the basis of visitor-Finns (
table 6). The heterostereotype about the visitor-Finn may be accurate; however, it should
not be applied to all Finns. We cannot talk about a mismatch between the Estonian
heterostereotype and Finnish autostereotype, unless we have polled the Estonians living
and working in Finland, or have immediate contacts with Finns.

Like in case of the Estonian heterostereotype, we should assay the context in which the
formation of the Finnish heterostereotype occurred. In 1991/1992, when contacts with
Estonia were practically non-existent, the Finns’ heterostereotype of Estonia could only
be formed via the Finnish media. Displayed in table 5 are the properties which the Finns
at that time attributed to Estonians. The bulk of those properties reflect the attempt of
Estonians to escape from under the Soviet domination. This is the heterostereotype of an
Estonian freedom-fighter.

In 1996/1997 the Finnish heterostereotype was impacted by factors different from those
affecting the Estonian heterostereotype. The Estonian heterostereotype of a Finn was
shaped on the basis of visitor-Finns. However the Finnish heterostereotype of an Estonian
was still formed by media, which paid especial attention to rowdy Estonians, blamed for
misconduct. On the other hand, the Finns’ heterostereotype of Estonians may also have
been affected by the visitor-Finns. A visitor’s picture of the host is generally more
positive than the host’s picture of the visitor (McAndrew 2001; Nichols & McAndrew
1984). For properties characterising the heterostereotype formed by the media and
visitors, see table 6. Because the media reflect extreme cases rather than the average, the
stereotypes formed by media are extremist, too. The visitor’s stereotype of the host too
tends to be biased and different from the average. On these grounds, the Finnish
heterostereotype of Estonians in 1996/1997 is evidently not valid.
Pajupuu, Hille. Estonian national stereotypes in transition. In: Diana Petkova, 16
Jaakko Lehtonen (Eds.). Cultural Identity in an Intercultural Context. Publications of the
Department of Communication, No 27, 2005, 124–142. University of Jyväskylä
Hence, although in 1996/1997 contacts between Estonians and Finns existed, the host-
visitor dimension apparently played a significant role in the formation of
heterostereotypes. Because contacts mainly occurred on Estonian soil, the
heterostereotypes obtained could not be used to judge about the validity of stereotypes. In
order to determine the validity of stereotypes by means of matching heterostereotypes
and autostereotypes, relations are needed where both countries are visited by an
approximately equal number of persons.

All in all, in research on stereotypes, the type of contacts made between the nations must
be accorded an important place: whether contacts are indirect or direct, and what relation
subsists between hosts and visitors in the case of direct contacts. All those indicators
impact on the nature of stereotypes.

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