The Role of Culture in Emotion-Antecedent Appraisal

Do respondents in different cultures appraise emotion-antecedent events differently? Are similar appraisal profiles associated with the same emotions across cultures? These questions were studied for 7 emotions in 37 countries. Results show rather high convergence across geopolitical regions with respect to emotion specific profiles, suggesting universality of the appraisal mechanism. Empirical profiles corresponded in large measure to theoretical predictions. There were sizable differences between geopolitical regions with respect to general appraisal tendencies. Respondents in Africa tended to appraise events as more immoral, more unfair or unjust, and more externally caused. Respondents in Latin America tended to appraise emotion-antecedent events as less immoral than those in other regions. To find potential explanatory factors, a number of key country variables related to climate, cultural values, and socioeconomic-demographic factors were examined.