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Abstract
The current study examined how cultural differences between collectivist and individualistic conceptualizations of the social emotions of pride and shame affect identification of, behavioral inclination toward and expression of, and the experience of those emotions by members of each culture. Photographs of both American and Chinese individuals expressing each of five states (pride, shame, neutrality, happiness and anger) were presented to 102 American and Chinese participants who were asked to rate how likely they would be to approach or avoid each person based on the emotional expression. Participants were also asked to identify the same emotions. In separate tasks, participants were asked to choose from 3 different photographs expressing varying levels of intensity of shame, anger, and happiness in order to indicate how comfortable they would be in expressing that intensity level of the emotion in public. Participants also completed a task that assessed their proneness to feel pride and shame. Findings indicate distinct cultural differences in the experience of and behavior towards pride, with Western participants experiencing authentic pride more frequently and being more likely to approach another person who is expressing pride. Hypothesized differences were not found in the case of shame, although findings emerged in the expected direction in that Eastern participants reported being more comfortable expressing higher intensity shame in public than Western participants. Through hierarchical regression modeling, it was shown that for Western participants, the experience of pride and shame also has an effect on how one will be inclined to behave in response to others' expressions of those emotions, with those who experience more hubristic pride or shame being more likely to approach pride. Behavior towards shame did not appear to be influenced in the same manner by the experience of shame or pride. Implications for the teasing apart of cultural influences and personal experience in the understanding of pride and shame are discussed.
*George Chapman (c. 1559-1634)
