At the top of the world: up and down, north and south in maps – cues to power and ownership over resources?

Abstract

This study explores the impact of cartographic representation on peoples perceptions of power relations between countries and countries ownership of resources. The main focus of the study was the impact of country position along the north-south axis on perceived country power, where it was hypothesized that people will perceive a country as more powerful when it is positioned north than when it is positioned south on a map. The secondary focus was the impact of country position along the north-south axis on perceptions of ownership of a transboundary water resource. Additionally, several other questions were tested. The results showed an unexpected pattern where there was an effect of country position on power perception for real, but not for fictional countries. Future studies may explore what drives the difference between perceptions of the fictional and real scenarios.

This study explores the impact of cartographic representation on peoples perceptions of power relations between countries and countries ownership of resources. The main focus of the study was the impact of country position along the north-south axis on perceived country power, where it was hypothesized that people will perceive a country as more powerful when it is positioned north than when it is positioned south on a map. The secondary focus was the impact of country position along the north-south axis on perceptions of ownership of a transboundary water resource. Additionally, several other questions were tested. The results showed an unexpected pattern where there was an effect of country position on power perception for real, but not for fictional countries. Future studies may explore what drives the difference between perceptions of the fictional and real scenarios.