Journal article
Emotions in "the world": cultural practices, products, and meanings of anger and shame in two individualist cultures
Michael Boiger, Simon De Deyne, Batja Mesquita
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY | FRONTIERS MEDIA SA | Published : 2013
Abstract
Three studies tested the idea that people's cultural worlds are structured in ways that promote and highlight emotions and emotional responses that are beneficial in achieving central goals in their culture. Based on the idea that U.S. Americans strive for competitive individualism, while (Dutch-speaking) Belgians favor a more egalitarian variant of individualism, we predicted that anger and shame, as well as their associated responses, would be beneficial to different extents in these two cultural contexts. A questionnaire study found that cultural practices promote beneficial emotions (anger in the United States, shame in Belgium) and avoid harmful emotions (shame in the United States): em..
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