Culture and Emotions and the Importance of Cultural Knowledge

Please respond to the two classmates posts.
Please use the course source:
Heine, S. J. (2020). Cultural psychology. 4th Edition. New York: W.W. Norton.
The guideline for a reply post is about 200-350 words. These posts should be relevant, timely, well-written and include citations.
Discussion posts are evaluated and graded based on timeliness, relevance, references, depth/quality, and quantity of discussion posts for all modules. Posting the obvious, or comments such as "I agree with you" or "That was an interesting idea" are not given value toward your discussion grade.
J's post:
A myth we might have believed is that emotions are the same or equal in all cultures all over the world. But in fact, as discussed in Heines Book “Cultural Psychology”. Some words do not have a literal translation into other languages. For this instance how do we describe the feeling of sad to a culture who does not have a word for sad. “Sadness isn’t the same across cultures; in Tahiti, for example, there is no concept of sadness. Tahitians have the concept “pe’ape’a,” which combines the Western concepts of ill, troubled, fatigued, or unenthusiastic.” (Kitazawa, 2022) I also had the same question as to how a blind person knows what a sad face looks like if they have never seen one before. “The facial musculature is capable of over 40 independent actions.” (Valente 2018) With this known fact it safe to assume that there will be differences in reactions and emotions across cultures. Without the concept of a specific emotion, you would not be able to express that emotion.
In our western culture we can typically look as an individual and predict their emotions based solely off their body language and facial expressions. While we might be able to look at a person in Tahiti and say “oh that person is upset” they may not have a direct translation to the emotion. We all greave loss in our own way and while we might react one way to an emotion, we would need to understand the emotions of the cultures we are surrounded by. As President Richard Nixon debarked a place in South American her showed a smile and gave the OK sign to the crowed. What He did not realize was how offensive this gesture was. As he did it with a smile the South Americans were truly Offended by this action. President Bush also had a similar incident in Australia. Granted these were more than just facial expressions the act along with the facial expression was deemed inappropriate in those cultures.
One thing you could do before traveling or interacting with another culture would be to do your research. One should know the culture they will be interacting with. Knowing loose translations to works of emotions could save a lot of confusion in the communication efforts. Knowing If the host county will be offended if you cross your legs or put your foot up showing the bottom of your foot could safe great embarrassment understanding cultural differences. Also understanding facial expressions could help too. I used to work with a guy who always kept a serious look on his face and never outwardly smiled. When asked what was wrong, he would just reply, “nothing, it’s just my face”. Knowing this prior would be very beneficial if you were going to another county for work and had to deal with colleagues from a different culture.
A's post:
In the article, “Cultural Norms Influence Nonverbal Emotion Communication: Japanese Vocalization of Socially Disengaging Emotions” the authors investigate the influence of cultural norms on the expression of emotion among East Asian population (Japanese). The research study looks at the vocalization of socially disengaging emotions such as anger, and how non-Western cultures like Japan expresses these types of emotions.
According to the article, “emotion recognition is more accurate when the producer and perceiver of a vocal signal belong to the same cultural group” (Yoshie & Sauter, 2020, p. 513). Nevertheless, cultural norms whether Western culture or non-Western culture play a part in the way individuals express emotions. I have noticed differences between my Western culture and the non-Western culture in the article. In Western cultures like the Unites States, individuals express their emotions openly and directly. Whereas in non-Western cultures like Japan, individuals suppress their emotions as they prefer to avoid conflict and maintain peace within the group. The article discusses how Western cultures socially disengaging emotions such as anger are often expressed openly, loudly, or with physical gestures. But Japanese express anger through vocalization that are indirect and subdued (Yoshie & Sauter, 2020, p. 515-517). While independent cultures like Americans prioritize “one’s own needs and goals”, in Japan “these interpersonal norms form cultural affordances of interdependent cultures to de-emphasize socially disengaging emotions that focus on personal goals” (Yoshie & Sauter, 2020, p. 514). In this study, the researchers asked the participants (30 Dutch adults and 30 Japanese adults) to listen to vocalizations (288 stimuli through headphones) expressing nine different emotions (amusement, relief, sadness, sensual pleasure, fear, disgust, surprise, anger, and triumph) and rate their intensity and appropriateness. The results showed that Japanese rated socially disengaging vocalizations as less intense than Westerners. Research on emotional experience show that “Japanese individuals report experiencing socially disengaging emotions less strongly and frequently than do Americans” (Yoshie & Sauter, 2020, p. 514).
Knowing how different cultures express emotions can be beneficial when working, living, or just interacting with individuals from a particular country because emotions are a big part of communication, so being aware can help you form better relationships whether at work or friendships. “People with independent and interdependent self-concepts will interpret situations differently, as either providing opportunities to distinguish themselves, or influencing their relationships with others” (Heine, 2020, p. 400). Therefore, knowing these differences can help you to avoid misunderstandings. For example, knowing that Japanese are more reserved with their emotions may help an American understand that their perceived lack of interest is part of their culture. Similarly, when Americans speak loudly, it’s not necessarily that they are angry or being rude, but the way they express themselves.
In conclusion, the article focused on how cultural norms affect communication and expression of emotion between Western and non-Western cultures. These differences are due to cultural factors which promote individualism versus social harmony. Knowing these differences can help individuals avoid misinterpretations and misunderstandings.