Cultural variation in pro-positive versus balanced systems of emotions

Abstract

People generally perceive positive emotions more favorably than negative emotions and try to increase positive emotions and decrease negative emotions. However, the extent to which people hold such pro-positive and contra-negative orientations to emotions differs across cultures. We review research that examines cultural influences on the valuation, regulation, and experiences of positive and negative emotions. Based on this research, we propose that a pro-positive and contra-negative system of emotion is more prevalent in Western, especially American cultural contexts, whereas a balanced system of emotion is more dominant in East Asian cultural contexts. At the end, we propose directions for future research.