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Cultural Similarity's Consequences

A Distance Perspective on Cross-Cultural Differences in Emotion Recognition

Nalini Ambady

Harvard University

Previous research found null results examining predicted relationships between emotion recognition accuracy and Hofstede's cultural dimensions. Prior theory was "static," linking cultural profiles with absolute levels of emotion recognition accuracy. By contrast, a "distance" theory links cultural differences with the discrepancy in recognition accuracy achieved by members of the group posing versus the group recognizing the expressions, known as the in-group advantage. Reanalyzing data from four large-scale studies, and pooling results across studies for greater precision, we find no support for static hypotheses. Notably, no patterns differ across emotions, a central prediction by static theories focusing on decoding rules. However, analyses parsimoniously support the distance perspective. These findings add to expanding evidence for cultural differences in emotional communication.

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Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 34, No. 1, 92-110 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0022022102239157


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