Body language
It is generally accepted that posture and the orientation of the body is universal in all humans. Regardless of culture specifics, we can usually recognise aggression, easiness, familiarity and so on. However, how personal space is used when interacting with others is influenced by culture and can have a symbolic meaning (Ekman, 1992).
It is known for example, that in some Arab, Asian, South-European or Latin American cultures the acceptable distance between persons in formal encounters may be less than in North-American or North-European ones. The positioning of the body is also different: In Arab countries, for example, people stand more face to face than in the U.S.A. or in European countries. http://www.payer.de/kommkulturen/kultur043.htmPoxemic Hall (26.6.2018)
These factors can lead to cross-cultural misunderstandings. For example, according to the protocol, police officers are asked to position themselves in specific ways in order to protect each other in case of emergency. A German police officer would probably expect a civilian to keep a distance of more or less 1m and wouldn’t position himself directly in front of him. A shorter distance and a face-to-face position may be interpreted as aggressive or dominant behaviour. This wouldn’t necessarily be the case if the civilian came from a culture where such a distance and position is normal for formal occasions.
Advice:
- Actively observe your counterpart’s body language
- Avoid misinterpreting your counterpart’s bodylanguage
- Remember that bodylanguage is culture specific
- Find out where your counterpart is from. This helps you understand their bodylanguage.
Emotion
All human beings express emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, happiness and others by certain non-verbal elements ( for example lip/mouth or eye movements) which are universal. However, the way and the extent to which we display emotions is influenced by culture. This means that there is a difference in how cultures judge the appropriateness of showing certain emotions.
Research shows that there seems to be some correlation between the cultural dimensions ‘Collectivism – Individualism’, ‘High-Low Power distance’ as well as ‘Masculinity – Femininity’ and the display and regulation of emotion. (Fernández, Carrera, Pilar et al., 2000)
In cultures with a higher score in individualism, emotions will be shown more easily than in cultures with higher scores in collectivism. The reason for this is that in collectivistic cultures, for example Asian ones, individual displays of happiness or anger may disturb the group harmony.
Cultures with higher scores in Power distance and Masculinity may show emotions less openly than countries with lower scores because an outburst of emotion could mean disrespect. For this reason Germans may appear quite neutral.
However, this topic is very complex as the cultural shaping of the same type of emotion may vary from country to country. For example smiling and laughing has different meanings in Asian cultures. Of course it can mean happiness. But it can also be the expression of various negative emotions. Giggling and laughing can be a sign of unease, a laugh can hide fear or other strongly felt emotions like sadness or sorrow. Some other cultures of Muslim religion have ritualised the display of distress in the case of death, other Mediterranean cultures show distress more openly than Northern-European ones, but without (nowadays) having proper ritualised forms.
Advice:
- Try to avoid misinterpreting your counterpart by your own emotional standards
- Remember that displays of emotion are culture specific
- Ask questions that help you to understand the situation
Ekman, Paul (1992). “Are there basic emotions?”, in: Psychological Review, vol. 99 (3), pp. 550–553.
Fernández, Itziar, Carrera, Pilar et al. (2000). “Differences between cultures in emotional verbal and non-verbal Reactions”, in: Psicotema, Vol. 12, Supl., pp. 83-92 https://www2.uned.es/dpto-psicologia-social-y-organizaciones/paginas/profesores/Itziar/Psicothema2000.pdf (24.7.2018)
Hall, Edward (1966). The Hidden Dimension, Garden City, N.Y.
http://www.payer.de/kommkulturen/kultur043.htmPoxemic Hall (26.6.2018)
https://www.management-issues.com/opinion/7239/emotional-differences-across-cultures/ (24.7.2018)