The cross-cultural study of emotions

Abstract

The problems encountered in cross-cultural research are detailed and the way they affect the study of emotions is discussed. They include: obtaining samples of subjects in developing countries that are comparable to samples studied in the West; constructing tasks and writing and translating questions that are meaningful for subjects from a variety of cultures; dealing with subjects to whom the experimental method appears strange; and attempting to eliminate ethnocentric bias from the design of studies, the perception of subjects' responses, and the interpretation of data. Psychiatric studies of emotional disorders and psychological studies of the perception of emotion across cultures are reviewed in relation to these problems. It is concluded that this area of study is in its infancy, and guidelines for future development are laid down.