Abstract
While previous studies have shown that East-West cultural differences exist in processing different emotional stimuli, potential subcultural differences within a large cultural group are not well understood. In this study, we examined subcultural differences in the event-related potential (ERP) modulations in the brain, during processing social positive and non-social positive stimuli among 21 Han Chinese and 21 Uygur Chinese. Results showed that the magnitudes of P2, N2, and late positive potential (LPP) were larger in Uygur Chinese than in Han Chinese. For social positive stimuli, the P2 and LPP 300–600 were larger in Uygur Chinese than in Han Chinese. However, there was no significant difference in non-social positive stimuli. These results indicated that social positive emotions were more prioritized in emotional processing among Uygur Chinese than Han Chinese. These findings contribute to the growing literature on subcultural differences in processing different types of positive stimuli.
Highlights
We found subcultural differences in the electro-cortical responses during emotional processing of social and non-social positive emotions
Drawing on previous research on positive emotions in Chinese cultural background, the authors hypothesized that Uygur Chinese and Han Chinese would differ in the early and later eventrelated potential (ERP) components (e.g., P2, N2, and late positive potential (LPP)) during emotional processing
Compared to Han Chinese, we expected that Uygur Chinese would prioritize social positive emotions
Summary
There was no significant difference in non-social positive stimuli These results indicated that social positive emotions were more prioritized in emotional processing among Uygur Chinese than Han Chinese. Several cross-cultural studies have shown that Chinese have different beliefs, attitudes, and regulation tendencies toward different emotions as compared to their Western counterparts, especially for positive emotions (Miyamoto and Ma, 2011; Deng et al, 2019). This reflects the distinctive cultural values regarding emotions in Chinese culture (Deng et al, 2018, 2019; Ma et al, 2018). This exploratory study aims to test whether culture shapes electro-cortical responses during processing of positive emotions by using an event-related potential (ERP) measure
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call