Holding Your Flag: The Effects of Exposure to a Regional Symbol on People's Behavior

Holding Your Flag: The Effects of Exposure to a Regional Symbol on People's Behavior. By Nicolas Guéguen, Angélique Martin; Jordy Stefan
European Journal of Social Psychology, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.2239/full

Abstract: Research has shown that exposure to the national flag alters people's behavior and political and intergroup judgments. In several field studies conducted in an area of France with a strong regional identity, we examined the effect of the presence of the regional flag vs the national flag vs no flag on behaviors. Various situations (e.g., money solicitation, implicit helping behavior, food tasting) were tested in Brittany, on the French west Atlantic coast. Car drivers, passersby in the street, patrons in bakeries were exposed to no flag vs the French flag vs the Brittany flag held by requesters or presented on a product or on a car. Findings showed that the regional flag increased helping behavior dramatically. Other studies also revealed that the presence of the Brittany flag reduced aggressiveness and influenced preference for food products. The power of a flag as a symbol that could increase in-group membership is discussed.