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EMOTIONS AND
EMOTIONS AND
WELL-BEING
WELL-BEING
ACROSS CULTURES
ACROSS CULTURES
Monika Wrobel, Ph.D.
M17. People Across Cultures: An Introduction to Cross-Cultural Psychology
Cross-cultural research on
Cross-cultural research on
emotions
emotions
Å›ð Darwin s  The Expression of Emotions in Man and
Animals
Å›ð Universality studies
Å›ð Ekman s research on universality of facial
expression
Å›ð Argentina, Chile, Brazil, USA, Japan
Å›ð the Fore
Å›ð Heider s replication (the Dani)
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Universal facial expression of
Universal facial expression of
emotions
emotions
Å›ð Ekman s studies Ćð 6
universal expressions:
anger, disgust, happiness,
sadness, surprise, fear
Å›ð the 1980s Ćð contempt
Å›ð recent studies Ćð
embarrassment
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Neurocultural theory
Neurocultural theory
Å›ð Tomkins, Ekman & Friesen
Å›ð Duchenne smile
Å›ð Facial Action
Coding System
(FACS)
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Differences in emotion
Differences in emotion
recognition
recognition
Å›ð No study ever reported perfect cross-cultural
agreement.
Å›ð Matsumoto (1992)
Å›ð Americans were better at recognizing anger,
disgust, fear, and sadness than the Japanese;
Å›ð accuracy rates did not differ for happiness or
surprise.
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Intensity ratings of facial
Intensity ratings of facial
expression
expression
Å›ð When comparing pairs of expressions, people of
different cultures agree on which is more intense.
Å›ð BUT when people from different cultures rate
intensity of single emotions on a scale their
attributions differ:
Å›ð intensity ratings are lower for the Asian respondents
than for the Western ones;
Å›ð the differences are more significant in case of negative
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emotions.
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Cultural display rules
Cultural display rules
Å›ð Culturally prescribed rules, learned early in life, that
dictate the management and modification of the
universal expressions, depending on social
circumstances.
Å›ð The experiment of Ekman an Friesen (1973) Ćð
emotional expression of the Japanese students vs.
emotional expression of the American students.
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Smile across cultures (1)
Smile across cultures (1)
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Smile across cultures (2)
Smile across cultures (2)
Å›ð The expression of enjoyment or joy.
Å›ð BUT it may also hide negative feelings.
Å›ð Asian cultures
Å›ð Japanese tatemae
(= facade, mask)
Å›ð Amrozi   the
smiling bomber
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American vs. Polish smile
American vs. Polish smile
(Szarota, 2006)
(Szarota, 2006)
AMERICAN SMILE POLISH SMILE
Å›ð cheerfulness - keep Å›ð spontaneity and
smiling even for no naturalness - do not
reason express emotions that
you don t feel
Å›ð friendliness - be nice to
everyone Å›ð martyrdom - be proud
of the terrible
Å›ð happiness - even if
experiences of your
something bad happens,
descendants
try not to worry
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Cultural differences in subjective
Cultural differences in subjective
well-being (SWB)
well-being (SWB)
Å›ð Suh, Diener, Oishi, & Triandis (1998)
Å›ð 43 nations
Å›ð the mean life satisfaction ratings on a 7-point
scale ranged from 3.3 (China) to 5.4
(Netherlands)
Å›ð nations also have different opinions on the
ideal levels of SWB Ćð Brazilians (6.2) vs. the
Chinese (4.5)
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Why do cultural differences in
Why do cultural differences in
SWB occur?
SWB occur?
Å›ð A strong correlation between GNP and SWB across nations
(r H" 0,80)
Å›ð But this "richer = happier" argument is incomplete, because:
Å›ð rich nations are not only economically better off, but they also
possess various non-materialistic characteristics that
contribute to SWB
Å›ð there are exceptions that challenge the income explanation
(Japan vs. Puerto Rico)
Å›ð after a certain income level, economic factors lose their
predictive power
Å›ð Cultural explanations: individualism/collectivism and
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uncertainty avoidance
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Happiness in individualist and
Happiness in individualist and
collectivist cultures
collectivist cultures
INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM
COSTS
lack of strong social support Ćð there is less freedom to pursue
adverse life events might have personally rewarding goals
severe negative consequences
BENEFITS
people freely choose personal strong social support may
goals and lifestyles
protect against stressful events
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IDV-COL and happiness  possible
IDV-COL and happiness  possible
explanations
explanations
Å›ð It might be more crucial to have a high sense of
personal choice and freedom than to have a
reliable social safety net during difficult times.
Å›ð In individualist cultures each person feels
responsible for his/her happiness and tries harder
to be happy, while in many collectivist cultures
people are believed to have only limited control
over their happiness.
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