To assess how someone feels, do you look at his face, or at the people around him? A joint study by Canadian and Japanese researchers has found that the majority of Canadians judge a person’s emotional state by mainly gazing at his face, while Japanese observers are more likely to check out the subject’s surrounding figures to judge his feelings.

 

In two studies, participants were shown computer images depicting a one central figure surrounded by four others. Researchers manipulated the faces of the central and background figures to demonstrate various emotions, including happiness, sadness, and anger. Study participants were asked to assess the emotion of the central figure in the crowd.

 

Research indicated that nearly three-quarters of Japanese participants (72 percent) reported that their assessment of the central figure’s emotion was influenced by the facial expressions of the surrounding characters. That same number of Canadian participants (72 percent) reported opposite behavior; they stated that the background crowd’s expressions had no influence on how they judged the middle figure’s emotional state.

 

"What we found is quite interesting,” University of Alberta psychology professor Takahiko Masuda said, in a public statement. "Our results demonstrate that when North Americans are trying to figure out how a person is feeling, they selectively focus on that particular person's facial expression, whereas Japanese consider the emotions of the other people in the situation."

In a second part of the study, researchers monitored the eye movements of each participant, and found that these involuntary reflexes replicated the results of the first part of the study, validating the subjects’ self-reports. Both the westerners and the Japanese looked at the central figure first, but in the next second, the majority of westerners’ eyes remained on the central model, while most of the Japanese participants’ eyes focused on the surrounding models. 

"East Asians seem to have a more holistic pattern of attention, perceiving people in terms of the relationships to others," Masuda said publicly. "People raised in the North American tradition often find it easy to isolate a person from its surroundings, while East Asians are accustomed to read the air ‘kuuki wo yomu’ of the situation through their cultural practices, and as a result, they think that even surrounding people's facial expressions are an informative source to understand the particular person's emotion."

What do these results say about each culture? “The Japanese society is entirely externally driven. It’s a question of how others respond,” Dr. Herb London, president of the Hudson Institute and professor emeritus, New York University, tells demo dirt. “The important point is that the Japanese are largely outer-directed people seeking approval. Canadians are inner-directed people who are largely concerned about their personal feelings in how they respond to the world.”  

“No one way of looking at things is better or worse than the other,” communication expert Simma Lieberman says. “Both the Eastern and Western ways are valuable.”

 

Lieberman, a professional motivational speaker, offers programs in diversity training through Simma Lieberman Associates, based in California’s Bay Area. With 18 years as a consultant in diversity and cross-cultural dialogues, she says, “I have found that understanding non-verbal communication and expressions is important in being able to have meaningful interactions with people who are from different backgrounds.”

 

Studies like this one, which broaden the public’s knowledge of cultural differences in communication, are valuable for many reasons. The consequences of miscommunication, says Lieberman, can be disruptive at home and at work. “Uninformed assumptions about their meaning can cause serious misunderstandings and conflicts that impact our work and personal life.”

 

For example, if an American is interviewing a first-generation Asian for a company position, and the Asian isn’t making eye contact, it is most likely because in his culture, it is disrespectful to practice such bold non-verbal communication, Lieberman explains. The result? The American may erroneously conclude that the Asian is being disrespectful by not looking him in the eye, and lose out on a potentially productive employee.

 

“It’s important to not look at just one thing. Look at actions, listen to tone of voice,” because cultural customs differ when it comes to issues like eye contact, Lieberman says.

 

However, Lieberman is quick to note that it is important that people don’t practice stereotyping. “Keep in mind that other 28 percent of each group in the study. Remember that even within one’s own culture, there are differences,” Lieberman contends. “Even though most Japanese see the whole picture, or most Canadians look at the individual, there is still that other group that sees things the other way.”

 

“If you blend the two outlooks—the American style of organization and the holistic Asian way—they can come together in a healthy way to create a synergy that is better for everybody,” Lieberman concludes.

 

For more information about Simma Lieberman Associates, go to www.simmalieberman.com