Cultural similarities and differences in display rules

Abstract

Two decades of cross-cultural research on the emotions have produced a wealth of information concerning cultural similarities and differences in the communication of emotion. Still, gaps in our knowledge remain. This article presents a theoretical framework that predicts cultural differences in display rules according to cultural differences in individualism-collectivism (I-C) and power distance (PD; Hofstede, 1980, 1983), and the social distinctions ingroups-outgroups and status. The model was tested using an American-Japanese comparison, where subjects in both cultures rated the appropriateness of the six universal facial expressions of emotion in eight different social situations. The findings were generally supportive of the theoretical model, and argue for the joint consideration of display rules and actual emotional behaviors in cross-cultural research.