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International Handbook of Anger pp 125–137Cite as

The Expression of Anger Across Cultures

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Abstract

In this chapter, we argue that angry facial expressions have roots in our evolutionary histories and are probably genetically coded for all humans, resulting in biologically based universality in the expression and recognition of anger. At the same time, all humans live in cultures, and cultures endorse the modification of universal angry expressions. These modifications can lead to both culturally based universality as well as cultural differences in angry expressions. We argue that one of the main functions of culture is to calibrate emotional responding to culturally relevant situations, in order to maintain social order and prevent social chaos. We also present data that suggest that cultural differences in anger expression management, via mechanisms known as display rules, are associated with anger recognition accuracy rates on the cultural level. Biologically based emotions, therefore, interact with culture to produce rich and textured behavioral repertoires driven by emotion impulses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA

    David Matsumoto & Joanne Chung

  2. Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Seung Hee Yoo

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  1. David Matsumoto
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  2. Seung Hee Yoo
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  3. Joanne Chung
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Correspondence to David Matsumoto .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Pediatrics, Div. Pediatric Clinical Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Delaware St. SE., 420, Minneapolis, 55455, Minnesota, USA

    Michael Potegal

  2. FB Psychologie, Universität Marburg, Gutenbergstr. 18, Marburg, 35032, Germany

    Gerhard Stemmler

  3. University of South Florida, 7th Ave. South 140, St. Petersburg, 33701, Florida, USA

    Charles Spielberger

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Matsumoto, D., Yoo, S.H., Chung, J. (2010). The Expression of Anger Across Cultures. In: Potegal, M., Stemmler, G., Spielberger, C. (eds) International Handbook of Anger. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89676-2_8

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