U.S. media coverage plays on our government’s reference to Iran as “an axis of evil” while Iranian media and leaders refer to America as the “Great Satan.” But how do ordinary people here in the America and Iran view the counterpart country?

D. Ray Heisey, emeritus director and professor in the School of Communication Studies at Kent State University, and Ehsan Shaghasemi, graduate student of communications on the faculty of social sciences at Tehran University in Iran, sought to answer that question and also determine what the sources were for Americans’ and Iranians’ perceptions.

Heisey and Shaghasemi found that for both countries, media play a key role in reinforcing stereotypes, usually negative or unfavorable, of the other culture. However, interpersonal communication and personal contact were significantly responsible for reinforcing positive or favorable impressions of the other culture.

Having an American and an Iranian collaborate on research about a timely topic in light of the governments’ hostile views for each other has attracted the attention of the international

academic community.

Their paper, “The cross-cultural schemata of Iranian-American people toward each other: A qualitative approach,” will be presented at two major conferences. Heisey will present the paper to the International Association for Intercultural Communication Studies in Louisville, Ky., in November. Shaghasemi will present the paper at the International Conference on Intercultural

Studies in Portugal in December.

Survey participants included KSU students in the School of Communication studies and students in the Faculty of Social Studies at the University of Tehran. Research results found a strong influence that media have on Americans in shaping their negative perceptions about Iranians and, conversely, how personal contact within a circle of friends, family members and teachers with Iranian ties forms positive perceptions.

“Our findings confirm that media have a large influence on forming people’s perceptions and that personal interaction with others from different cultures can break down implanted stereotypes that people have of others,” Heisey said . . .more