Cultural variations in sentiments

David R. Heise International Academy for Intercultural Research

Reno, NevadaJune 25, 2013

Roots of this research

Charles Egerton Osgood (1916 – 1991)

• The Academy is seeking to recognize and celebrate early contributors to intercultural research. – University of Illinois psychologist Charles Osgood

was one of the most illustrious. – A biography is in Osgood & Tzeng, Language,

Meaning, and Culture: the Selected Papers of C. E. Osgood (Praeger: 1990).

• Here I want only to observe that Osgood organized and managed the largest in-depth cross-cultural study of the 20th Century.

• That monumental study proved beyond any doubt that – affective meaning varies along three dimensions, – within all 30 cultures considered in the project,– for individuals responding in more than 21

indigenous languages.

• The nature of the three affective dimensions—Evaluation, Potency, Activity (EPA)

• Verified in each of 21 communities as follows: → get indigens’ adjective associations to 100 universal concepts → have indigens pair the adjectives with opposites to form 60 scales → have indigenous teen males rate the 100 concepts on the 60 scales and average the ratings for each concept→ factor analyze the averaged ratings pan-culturally – 60 scales X 21 cultures – to see if

1. the first three factors are recognizably EPA 2. all cultures have scales loading on all three EPA factors

• More details in• Osgood, Charles E., W. H. May, and M. S. Miron. 1975. Cross-Cultural Universals of Affective

Meaning. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.• Summary in Heise, D. R. 2010. Surveying Cultures: Discovering Shared Conceptions and

Sentiments. Hoboken, NJ, Wiley Interscience.

The Osgood corpus

• Osgood’s research program was conducted in 30 cultures, but the data archived at Illinois have been lost.

• I purchased a print-out of results for 17 cultures in 1978 at the U-of-Illinois bookstore, kept it in my files, and scanned the sheets in 2001. The mean ratings of 620 concepts by indigenous male teenagers in the 17 cultures are the data I analyze in this talk.

• Please download photo-copies of the print-outs and electronic files of the mean ratings athttp://www.indiana.edu/~socpsy/Atlas/

On using the remnants of the Osgood atlasCons• 50 year old data so findings may be

out-of-date about specific cultures.• Data were lost on key European

cultures (Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Hungary) and key Asian cultures (Afghanistan, China, Japan).

• Fewer concepts were rated than in contemporary EPA surveys (about 600 as opposed to 1500-2500).

• Some concepts (e.g., homosexual) were dropped from surveys in some cultures.

Pros• Analyses show cultures in the pre-

globalized world.• Data cover a variety of communities

worldwide (U.S. Whites and Blacks in Illinois, Münster Germany, Netherlands, Belgrade Yugoslavia, Istanbul Turkey, Teheran Iran, Beirut Lebanon, Israel, New Delhi, Calcutta, Bangkok Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico City, Yucatan, Costa Rica, Brazil).

• The diverse concepts relate to time, kinship, abstract symbolisms, concrete symbolisms, environmentals, carnalities, human activity, interpersonal relations, society, communications, philosophy, and things and stuff.

• No missing data for 532 concepts.

Distances between EPA profiles

EPA of concept in culture Q: E=-2.0, P=0.5, A=1.0.EPA of concept in culture R: E=1.0, P=2.0, A=-1.0.

Distances between cultures

• The concept distances between two cultures were squared and summed over 620 concepts.

• These distance scores were put together into a 17X17 distance matrix.

US Whites

US Blacks

Germany ….

US Whites 0.00 33.57 32.80 ….

US Blacks 33.57 0 43.99 ….

Germany 32.80 43.99 0.00 ….

⁞ ⁞ ⁞ ⁞ ⁞ ….

• The matrix provided the data for a non-metric multi-dimensional scaling analysis.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 70

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

Number of dimensions

Stre

ss

Stress for MDS solutions of varying dimensions, when distances are computed over three EPA measures times 620 concepts.

MDS two-dimension solution.

US_Whites

US_Blacks

Germany

Netherlands Yugoslavia

Turkey

Iran

LebanonIsrael

New_DelhiCalcutta

Thailand

Malaysia

Mexico

Yucatan

Costa_Rica

Brazil

Biggest difference from 3-D solution is Brazil moving away from center because 3rd dimension largely contrasts Brazil with all others.

Two-dimensional solution is used for subsequent analyses.

US_Whites

US_Blacks

Germany

Netherlands Yugoslavia

Turkey

Iran

LebanonIsrael

New_DelhiCalcutta

Thailand

Malaysia

Mexico

Yucatan

Costa_Rica

Brazil

Intra-national cultures

Cultures within a nation can be as different as the cultures of separate nations.

US_Whites

US_Blacks

Germany

Netherlands Yugoslavia

Turkey

Iran

LebanonIsrael

New_DelhiCalcutta

Thailand

Malaysia

Mexico

Yucatan

Costa_Rica

Brazil

Geography and culture• European cultures

occupy a specific region.o US white culture

may belong in the European group.

• New World cultures are spread out.

• Middle Eastern cultures diverge horizontally.

• South Asian cultures also are fairly divergent.

• Geography not very predictive.o Though diasporas

and other aspects of history may be relevant.

US_Whites

US_Blacks

Germany

Netherlands Yugoslavia

Turkey

Iran

LebanonIsrael

New_DelhiCalcutta

Thailand

Malaysia

Mexico

Yucatan

Costa_Rica

Brazil

Christian

Christian

Christian

ChristianChristian

Christian

Christian

Christian

Muslim

Muslim

Muslim

Muslim

Jewish

HinduHindu

Communist

Buddhist

Religion and culture• Christian cultures are

widely spread.• Muslim cultures also

are spread.• The two Hindu cultures

are apart.• The sample has only

one instance of Judaism, Buddhism, and communism.

• Not much support for a religion connection, though upper-right societies may be more secular.

US_Whites

US_Blacks

Germany

Netherlands Yugoslavia

Turkey

Iran

LebanonIsrael

New_DelhiCalcutta

Thailand

Malaysia

Mexico

Yucatan

Costa_Rica

Brazil

Secular

History of colonization, slavery?

Ecclesiastical

Most distant concepts for Yugoslavia vs. Iran

Concept Yugoslavia_E P A Iran_E P A Concept Yugoslavia_E P A Iran_E P APROPHET -1.2 -0.9 0.0 2.8 0.6 2.3 PROBLEM -0.3 1.1 -0.2 2.0 0.5 1.3CAPITALISM -1.9 -0.2 0.1 1.8 0.7 1.4 NORTH 0.4 1.1 -1.4 2.0 0.4 0.8GOD -0.8 -0.4 0.0 2.5 1.0 1.8 PROFESSOR 0.6 0.2 -0.6 2.0 0.6 1.8GROWING -1.0 0.0 -0.7 2.1 0.6 1.7 HOMOSEXUAL -0.7 -0.2 0.4 1.8 0.5 1.4BLOOD -0.4 0.8 -0.4 2.6 0.8 2.1 ARMY 0.8 1.4 -0.5 2.2 1.5 1.9RELIGION -0.1 0.6 -1.1 2.6 0.9 1.6 HEAVEN 0.7 1.5 -0.4 2.6 0.4 1.3FARMER 1.1 1.1 -1.0 2.4 1.0 2.4 TRAIN 0.2 1.2 -0.3 2.2 1.3 1.6KING -0.7 -0.2 0.1 2.1 0.7 2.0 RAILROADS 0.6 0.9 -0.8 2.1 1.1 1.5LAW -0.2 0.7 -0.6 2.4 1.1 1.7 GRANDFATHER 2.5 1.0 -1.6 2.2 -0.3 0.8BLACK_RACE 1.2 1.4 -1.1 2.2 1.2 2.2 POWER 0.9 1.6 -0.3 2.2 1.4 2.1WORK 1.4 1.2 -0.9 2.6 0.8 2.3 FAMILY,BIG 1.0 1.2 -0.6 1.4 1.2 2.1PRAYER -0.6 -0.3 -0.5 2.2 0.4 1.3 WORLD 1.8 1.3 -0.8 2.1 1.1 1.9SCHOOL 1.1 1.0 -0.9 2.7 1.0 2.1 EDUCATION 2.0 1.5 -0.9 2.5 0.6 1.6UNIVERSITY 1.4 1.1 -0.9 2.7 1.1 2.2 DEFENSE 1.2 1.1 -0.5 2.2 1.1 2.0HOSPITAL -0.7 0.7 -0.6 2.1 0.8 1.2 RESPECT 2.1 1.3 -0.7 2.5 0.4 1.8SUN 2.2 2.0 -1.4 2.1 1.8 1.9 FACTORY_WORKER 1.7 1.5 -0.1 2.2 1.1 2.5DEVELOPMENT 1.1 1.4 -1.5 1.8 0.3 1.5 THOUGHT 1.5 1.5 0.1 2.8 1.1 2.4MOTHER 2.9 1.5 -0.8 2.6 0.3 2.2 BRAIN 2.0 1.4 -0.5 2.6 0.7 2.0VALLEYS 1.9 1.0 -1.3 0.8 0.1 1.6 HAND 0.8 1.0 -0.4 2.1 0.3 1.8FATHER 2.4 1.6 -0.8 2.5 0.8 2.3 FORGIVENESS -0.1 0.6 -0.1 2.1 0.2 1.3POLITICS -0.6 0.0 0.1 1.9 1.0 1.8 EAR 0.8 0.3 -0.5 2.6 0.0 1.4MY_OWN_TONGUE 2.3 1.9 -1.1 2.4 0.4 1.7 DESERTS -2.3 1.1 -1.5 0.0 0.3 -0.5CHILD,ILLEGITIMATE 0.5 -0.1 1.0 -2.0 -0.5 -0.9 PRIDE 1.6 2.2 -0.1 0.0 0.5 1.1KNOWLEDGE 2.4 1.8 -1.1 2.5 0.9 1.9 DISCUSSION 0.0 0.4 0.0 2.2 0.6 1.4JUSTICE 2.2 1.5 -1.3 2.2 0.7 1.7 DEVOTION 2.7 1.7 -0.8 1.0 0.2 0.5HERO 2.6 1.9 -0.6 2.6 1.8 2.5 ARTIST 1.6 0.9 -0.3 2.4 0.3 2.1MOSLEMS 0.2 0.2 -0.7 2.1 0.6 1.7 LEADER 1.4 1.4 0.1 2.6 1.3 2.4FEET 1.0 0.6 -0.4 2.7 1.1 2.1 FESTIVALS 0.9 0.2 0.4 2.4 0.9 2.4TOOTH -0.2 0.1 -0.1 2.4 0.6 1.4 STOREKEEPER -0.8 -0.6 0.0 1.3 0.0 1.4TEACHER 0.2 0.1 -0.4 2.2 0.7 1.8 CHARITY 0.4 0.2 -0.2 2.4 0.6 1.4BOOK 2.2 1.2 -1.3 2.5 0.4 1.6 CITY 1.3 0.6 -1.0 2.2 0.9 1.4FRIENDSHIP 2.4 2.0 -0.6 2.5 0.9 2.2 AUTHOR 0.8 0.9 -0.2 2.2 0.4 1.9INTESTINES -0.2 0.6 -0.6 2.0 0.4 1.4 DOCTOR 1.5 1.0 -0.5 2.4 0.8 1.9PARENTHOOD 2.0 1.5 -1.0 2.2 0.5 1.8 COURAGE 2.5 2.1 -0.4 2.2 1.0 1.9FAMILY 1.9 0.9 -0.8 2.4 0.6 2.1 EXAMINATION -0.5 0.7 0.1 1.8 0.4 1.2COUNTRY 1.9 1.6 -0.8 2.5 0.9 2.0 PEASANTS 1.4 1.2 -0.7 2.2 0.8 1.7FREEDOM 2.8 2.2 -0.7 2.5 0.9 1.9 ORPHAN 1.6 -1.2 1.3 0.0 -0.4 -0.5ROOT 0.0 0.9 -0.6 2.1 0.0 1.2 MASCULINITY 1.7 1.4 -0.3 2.5 1.2 2.1LABOR_UNIONS 1.2 1.0 -0.7 2.5 0.9 1.9 PSYCHOLOGY 1.1 1.2 -0.9 2.2 0.1 1.1MUSIC 2.4 1.2 -0.8 2.2 0.5 2.0 FIVE 2.1 1.0 -0.3 0.0 -0.4 -0.1MIND 2.0 1.9 -0.4 2.6 0.8 2.2 PHILOSOPHY 0.7 1.1 -1.3 1.6 0.6 1.0POETRY 1.9 1.6 -1.1 2.2 0.4 1.5 AFRICA 1.4 1.4 -1.3 1.1 0.7 1.1LIBRARY 1.8 1.4 -1.3 2.7 0.7 1.3 TRADITION 1.4 1.1 -1.5 1.7 0.4 0.9IDEALISM 0.4 0.7 -0.1 2.4 0.9 1.9 LANGUAGE 1.7 1.4 -0.5 1.9 0.4 1.8HUSBAND 0.2 0.8 -0.1 2.2 0.9 1.9 EUROPE 1.4 1.1 -1.0 1.5 0.4 1.4SCIENTIST 1.6 1.8 -1.0 2.1 0.4 1.4

• E difference > 2.5: Prophet, Capitalism, God, Growing, Blood, Religion, King, Law, Prayer, Hospital, Tooth, Homosexual. Iran more positive for all these concepts (including Homosexual).

• All other differences greater than 2.5 occur on A, with Iran more active in every case except illegitimate child.

• No P differences are greater than 2.5.

• The dimension predominately relates to religious topics.

Concept US_Black_E P A German_E P A Concept US_Black_E P A German_E P A

DEBT 1.8 1.1 -0.4 -2.6 1.0 0.5 YOUTH 1.7 1.1 -0.4 2.3 1.0 2.3

FIGHTING 1.7 1.4 -0.5 -1.4 2.2 2.4 HATE -0.2 0.6 -0.4 -2.3 1.2 1.3

BALDNESS 1.8 1.0 -0.5 -2.3 0.1 -0.7 TRAIN 1.7 1.1 -0.5 1.5 2.4 1.9

AGGRESSIVE,BEING 1.6 1.2 -0.3 -1.6 1.2 2.3 JAZZ_MUSIC 1.3 0.8 -0.3 1.5 1.2 2.4

EARTHQUAKE 0.0 0.9 -0.4 -2.5 2.2 2.5 BUS 1.3 1.7 -0.8 0.3 2.1 1.7

ENVY 1.6 1.2 -0.6 -2.2 0.8 0.7 SICKNESS 0.2 0.8 -0.4 -2.5 0.8 -0.7

WINE -1.3 0.1 -0.2 2.3 0.3 -0.5 ADULTERY 0.0 0.0 0.1 -2.3 0.8 1.3

GRAFT 1.6 1.1 -0.6 -1.9 0.8 -0.1 ADOLESCENCE 2.1 0.9 -0.4 2.1 0.9 2.3

LYING 0.9 0.5 -0.1 -2.3 0.6 1.3 PLAY 1.6 0.9 -0.6 2.2 0.5 2.0

ATOMIC_BOMB -0.4 1.5 0.0 -2.5 2.6 2.5 YELLOW_RACE 1.0 1.0 -0.5 -0.3 0.5 1.8

MACHINE 1.3 1.3 -0.6 2.8 2.4 2.3 TRAVEL 0.9 0.4 -0.4 2.6 0.9 1.6

COMPETITION 1.9 1.2 -0.4 -1.0 1.3 1.4 CREATURE 0.0 0.9 -0.4 1.8 0.4 1.5

BABY -0.1 0.3 0.0 1.6 -2.3 1.4 THREAD 1.4 1.2 -0.6 0.5 -1.3 -0.4

ANGER 0.2 0.7 -0.2 -2.4 1.6 1.8 BOY 1.7 0.9 -0.4 1.3 1.3 2.2

NOVEMBER 2.0 1.4 -0.9 -1.1 0.9 0.3 FAT 0.6 1.4 -0.4 -1.8 0.7 -1.3

GRAMOPHONE 2.4 1.8 -1.0 2.2 0.4 2.0 GYPSY 0.5 0.6 -0.3 -0.4 0.6 2.2

LAUGHTER 0.2 0.8 -0.3 2.3 0.4 2.2 FAMILY,BIG 0.8 0.8 -0.3 0.4 1.6 2.2

CHILD 1.6 0.6 -0.3 1.7 -1.8 1.9 PLAYING_TENNIS 1.5 0.8 -0.5 2.3 1.1 2.0

BATTLE 0.1 0.6 0.0 -1.6 1.8 2.5 NAIL 0.8 0.2 -0.5 0.1 0.6 2.0

ACCIDENT -0.7 0.4 0.2 -2.8 1.7 2.3 SILENCE 0.1 0.7 -0.3 1.2 -0.7 -2.2

REVOLUTION 0.3 0.6 0.0 -1.0 2.2 2.5 PAIN -0.7 0.2 0.0 -2.3 1.7 1.4

THUNDER 0.6 1.4 -0.4 -1.1 2.2 2.2 SEA 0.9 1.1 -0.5 1.6 2.3 1.7

HUNGER 0.4 0.7 -0.1 -2.4 2.1 0.5 PUNISHMENT 0.5 0.7 0.0 -1.9 1.5 0.6

BRIDE -0.1 0.3 0.2 2.6 -1.3 0.3 DEVIL -0.1 0.5 0.0 -2.2 1.1 1.4

WAR -1.4 0.9 0.1 -2.8 2.5 2.4 OLD_PEOPLE 0.9 0.6 -0.2 0.5 -1.0 -2.2

BIRD 1.5 0.7 -0.1 2.2 -1.5 2.0 RAIN 1.5 0.5 -0.6 -0.1 0.8 1.4

RACE_CONFLICT -0.7 1.2 0.2 -2.5 2.2 2.5 MONKEY 1.0 0.6 -0.1 0.8 0.0 2.4

CITY 1.2 1.1 -0.2 -0.1 1.6 2.5 WORLD 1.5 0.6 -0.4 0.9 1.6 1.9

DEFEAT 0.7 1.0 -0.4 -2.1 1.4 0.5 CHAMPION 0.9 0.2 -0.4 1.6 1.9 1.4

FLOWER 1.7 0.7 -0.5 2.5 -2.0 -1.4 WEDDING 0.5 0.6 -0.2 2.1 0.6 1.8

CASTE 1.8 1.1 -0.7 -0.9 0.5 0.3 MINISKIRT 1.7 0.4 -0.5 2.5 -1.5 1.0

SPACE_TRAVEL 0.7 1.1 -0.2 1.8 2.3 2.2 SODA_POP 1.9 0.9 -0.7 2.2 0.5 1.8

FEAR 0.4 0.6 -0.2 -2.2 1.3 0.8 MY_STATE_NAME 1.2 0.9 -0.6 -0.4 0.1 1.2

NOISE -0.3 0.9 0.1 -1.7 1.9 2.4 AIRPLANE 2.1 1.9 -0.8 2.0 2.3 1.7

ROSE 2.1 0.9 -0.6 2.6 -1.7 -1.6 TELEPHONE 1.9 0.3 -0.6 1.3 -0.2 1.8

DOCTOR 1.8 0.9 -0.5 0.1 0.9 1.7 RADIOS,POCKET 1.6 0.4 -0.4 1.8 -0.8 1.8

EMPTY_SPACE 1.4 1.1 -0.6 -0.9 0.1 -1.8 FUNERAL 0.2 0.3 -0.5 -1.8 0.4 -2.0

FOLLOWER 1.7 1.0 -0.7 -0.4 0.8 1.1

Most distant concepts for U.S. Blacks vs. Germany

• E difference > 2.5: Debt, Fighting, Baldness, Being Aggressive, Envy, Wine, Graft, Lying, Competition, Anger, November, Hunger, Bride, Defeat, Caste, Fear, Sickness. U.S. Blacks more positive, except for Wine and Bride.

• A difference > 2.5: Fighting, Being aggressive, Earthquake, Machine, Gramophone, Thunder, City, Youth, Jazz music, Adolescence, Play, Boy. Germany always more active.

• P differences > 2.5: Baby, Flower, Rose. U.S. Blacks more potent.

• The dimension mostly relates to reactions and predicaments of the oppressed.

Cultural differences in sentiments about specific concepts

• Concepts with large inter-cultural distances (largest first):– creature, army, wine, miniskirt, atomic bomb, fighting,

colonialism, God, revolution, school, funeral, dog, pride, patriot, soldier, competition, leisure, examination, prayer, hunger, earthquake, summer, whiskey, capitalism.

• Concepts with small inter-cultural distances (smallest last):– rug, Tuesday, window, widower, today, cheese, left hand,

tomorrow, wealth, map, middle class, four, thing, answer, room, the past, yesterday, March, stranger, place, a square, twenty-nine, neutrality, twenty-eight.

CONCEPTS WITH LARGE INTER-CULTURAL DISTANCES

Average inter-cultural distance 1.6 or more.

Creature

Army

Wine

CONCEPTS WITH SMALLEST INTER-CULTURAL DISTANCES

Average inter-cultural distance 1.0 or less.

Person

Stranger

Neutrality

CONCEPTS WITH INTERMEDIATE INTER-CULTURAL DISTANCES

Average inter-cultural distance less than 1.6 and more than 1.0.

War

Mother

Activity ratings vary from -0.8 (Yugoslavia) to 2.2 (Iran).

Child

Activity ratings vary from -0.3 (US Blacks) to 2.3 (Iran).

Generalizing…

• Inter-cultural differences are large for a few concepts.

• Inter-cultural differences are moderate and meaningful for most concepts.

• Inter-cultural differences are insignificant for a few concepts.

• Then inter-cultural feelings about diverse concepts should form a single factor within each EPA dimension when concept means are Q-factored.

• Eigenvalues from correlations of 17 cultures over ratings of 535 concepts:

Proposition: expressive orders of cultures are largely similar.

EMOTIONAL ENTAILMENTS OF CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN SENTIMENTS

Using simulation analyses to determine the

Affect control theory

• Basic principle: Humans try to experience what they already know.

• On the cognitive side, this means that you try to fit any experience into culturally-available categories.

• On the affective side, the principle means that you try to match the feelings that the experience gives you with your cultural sentiments.

• Especially, you design your own actions so that the feelings they produce will affirm your sentiments.– Complete details are provided in: D. Heise, 2007, Expressive Order:

Confirming Sentiments in Social Actions. New York, Springer.

Affect control theory uses the three dimensions and a mathematized theory to predict people’s behaviors.

Setting up program Interact.

Predicting behaviors.

“ACT is one of the most encompassing and precise social-psychological theories, translating … qualitative, phenomenological approaches … into an exact quantitative system with point predictions that deliver astonishing plausible results” (Scholl, 2013: 21)

Interact is at http://www.indiana.edu/~socpsy/ACT/interact/JavaInteract.html

With three dimensions and a mathematized theory that people maintain their sentiments about self and other, we can predict behaviors, emotions, attributions, and labelings.

INTERACT SIMULATIONS OF PROPRIETOR-PATRON INTERACTIONS

IN DIFFERENT CULTURES

Emotion EPAs in simulated commercial actions, when Proprietor performs optimal act toward Patron

Actor Optimal Act Object Actor Emotion Object EmotionE P A E P A E P A E P A E P A

Storekeeper interacting with "Most people", 1960-70 male teens fromBrazil 1.2 0.5 0.4 1.3 0.3 0.1 1.0 0.4 0.6 1.6 0.4 0.8 1.3 0.0 0.6Calcutta 0.1 0.6 1.1 0.4 0.3 0.7 0.2 0.6 0.7 0.9 0.7 1.1 0.9 -0.4 0.5Costa Rica 1.1 0.5 0.5 1.3 0.3 0.3 1.2 0.3 0.8 1.7 0.4 0.9 1.3 -0.1 0.7Germany 0.9 0.8 1.1 1.0 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.4 0.7 1.3 0.7 1.0 1.2 -0.2 0.6Iran 1.3 0.0 1.4 1.4 -0.2 1.1 1.2 0.5 1.5 1.8 -0.1 1.2 1.4 0.4 0.6Israel 0.3 -0.3 -0.1 0.5 -0.2 -0.3 0.1 0.5 0.0 0.9 -0.2 0.6 0.9 -0.2 0.5Lebanon 0.9 0.4 0.5 0.9 0.3 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.1 1.1 0.3 0.8 1.0 -0.2 0.6Malaysia 1.8 0.3 1.2 1.7 0.1 0.8 1.0 0.3 0.6 1.8 0.1 1.1 1.5 0.3 0.7Mexico 0.9 0.8 0.6 1.1 0.5 0.3 1.0 0.5 0.7 1.5 0.6 0.9 1.2 -0.2 0.6Netherlands 0.8 0.1 0.3 0.7 0.0 -0.1 -0.2 0.7 0.2 0.9 0.0 0.8 0.9 0.0 0.5New Delhi 1.1 0.7 -0.5 1.3 0.5 -0.6 1.2 0.6 0.0 1.6 0.5 0.4 1.3 -0.3 0.6Thailand 0.8 0.8 0.0 1.1 0.6 -0.3 0.9 0.5 -0.1 1.4 0.6 0.6 1.1 -0.4 0.6Turkey 0.5 0.3 0.8 0.7 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.2 0.2 1.1 0.4 1.0 1.0 -0.4 0.6U.S. Blacks 1.0 0.6 -0.4 1.3 0.4 -0.5 1.3 0.7 -0.1 1.7 0.4 0.4 1.2 -0.3 0.6U.S. Whites 1.3 0.3 0.3 1.3 0.2 0.0 0.9 0.3 0.9 1.6 0.2 0.8 1.3 0.1 0.6Yucatan 1.9 0.7 0.5 1.9 0.4 0.3 1.5 1.3 1.0 2.2 0.3 0.9 1.5 0.6 0.6Yugoslavia -0.8 -0.6 0.0 0.1 -0.7 0.1 1.1 1.3 -0.2 1.2 -0.5 0.8 0.9 -0.4 0.5

Merchant-Customer, Contemporary U.S. White college studentsMales 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.4 0.3 0.7 1.5 1.5 0.9 1.9 0.4 1.0 1.3 0.3 0.6Females 0.9 0.8 0.8 1.4 0.3 0.7 2.0 0.9 1.1 2.6 -0.1 1.3 1.7 -0.9 0.8

Brazil, Costa Rica, Iran, Malaysia, Mexico City, U.S.

Whites.

Germany, Calcutta, Lebanon, Turkey

Netherlands, Israel, Yugoslavia

U.S. Blacks, New Delhi, Thailand

Yucatan, IU Males, IU Females

Emotions co-occurring with expected acts of 1960-70s Storekeeper and “Most people”(or 2002 Merchant and Customer among IU students).

Picture is from Interact analysis of first-named culture in each cluster.

• This simulation shows (as all of you know) that you can conduct a commercial transaction almost anywhere.– But in some places the interaction may seem a bit

strange.• The expressive order in sundry social encounters is

largely shared cross-culturally.• The (usually) small divergences in expressive order

give foreign flavor to intercultural interactions.• However, certain topics—especially involving

religion and circumstances of oppressed groups—have such diverse affective meanings cross-culturally that cross-cultural understanding and empathy may break down.

Muslim-Prophet-Dutchman• I used Iranian and Dutch sentiments to ask how a Dutchman might treat the

Prophet, and how a Muslim might react to the Dutchman’s action. (Inspired by the 2005 controversy regarding Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.) – Iranian EPA for Prophet 2.8 0.6 2.3; Dutch Prophet 0.5 0.0 0.2. – Muslim views Dutchman as “atheist,” Dutchman views self as “most people.” Both view

Muslim as “Moslem” and Prophet as “Prophet.”

• Action of Dutchman to Prophet: EPA: 0.2 0.8 0.0, which could be an action like question, dress down, jail, lecture, smirk at, rebuff, disagree with, rebuke, reproach, kid, oppose.

Dutchman emotion

Muslimemotion

• Reaction of Muslim to Dutchman: 0.8 0.9 0.9, which could be an action like rebuke, disagree with, stop, arrest, discipline, caution, reform, reproach.

• The attacks resulting in more than 200 deaths in response to the Danish cartoons suggests that inter-cultural differences in sentiments may be even more extreme, that the cartoonist’s actions were seen as worse than intended, and that deadly violence itself has different meanings cross-culturally.

Conclusions• Nationality, geography, and religious creed do not predict

similarities and differences in cultures of affective meaning.• Cultures do vary along two major dimensions:

– Secular vs. ecclesiastical.– Colonialism/slavery: controllers vs. controlled.

• Inter-cultural differences in affective meaning are large for a few concepts, tiny for a few concepts, and moderate for most concepts.– The similarity of affective meanings across cultures allows us to

apprehend happenings in other cultures reasonably well, even though foreign emotions and behavioral responses may seem a bit “off.”

– Occasionally—with regard to the few concepts where affective meanings differ greatly—foreign responses can be baffling or even frightening.• These are the topics where inter-cultural relations and communications most

need advancement.

The End

This presentation may be downloaded at:http://www.indiana.edu/~socpsy/public_files/IAIR.pptx