A Comparison of Emotional Expression between Canadian-born and Immigrants Living in Canada : A Comparison of Emotional Expression between Canadian-born and Immigrants Living in Canada S. Safdar, L.C. Gough, R. Raiciu, & J. Rendell
University of Guelph, Canada
Paper presented at the
International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology
Spetses, Greece, July 10, 2006
Purpose of the Study : Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study was to examine similarity/differences of emotional display rules in samples of adults and students.
The study also aimed at examining similarity/differences of emotional display rules in samples of Canadian born and Immigrants.
Hypotheses : Hypotheses Hypothesis 1:
No difference between Canadian students and adults in relation to expression of emotions were predicted.
Hypothesis 2:
Canadian samples (students and adults) express their emotions (i.e. happiness, surprise, anger, contempt, fear, sadness and disgust) more than the immigrant sample.
Canadians will report that it is more acceptable to express positive emotions more overtly with family, friends, and casual acquaintances than negative emotions.
Sample 1: Canadian-Born Students : Sample 1: Canadian-Born Students 124 Canadian-born university students
63(51%)=females 60 (48%)=males
Age M=19, SD=1.46
96% single
Religion: 33% Catholic, 35% Christian
Economic background: 48% high middle income, 27% middle income
Sample 2: Immigrant Students : Sample 2: Immigrant Students 104 Immigrant university students
64(62%)=females 40 (38%)=males
Age M=20, SD=2.91
89% married
Religion: 27% Christian, 25% Buddhist, 24% Muslim
Place of Birth: 15% India, 8% Pakistan, 7% Philippines
Native Language: 39% Romanian, Chinese 7%
Economic background: 43% middle income, 32% high middle income
Sample 3: Canadian-Born Adults : Sample 3: Canadian-Born Adults 94 Canadian-born adults
66(70%)=females 28 (30%)=males
Age M=50, SD=9.88
76% married, 13% separated/divorced
Religion: 12% Catholic, 60% Christian, 27% none
Economic background: 44% middle income, 20% high middle income, 19% low middle income
90% had post secondary education
Instruments : Instruments Display Rule Assessment Inventory-DRAI (21 questions)
Five possible behavioral responses: Express, Amplify, Deamplify, Neutralize, Mask, & Qualify
Two possible situations: public & private
Seven emotions: fear, sadness, contempt, disgust, happiness, surprise, & anger
Twenty one targets
Assessment of intensity and commitment to each of the target person in the DRAI scale (20-item)
Scoring the DRAI : Scoring the DRAI Data transformation
Parameters of HOMALS analysis were used: Amplify (.5651), Express (.3842), Qualify (-.1218), Demaplify (-.1545), Mask (-.3828), Neutralize (-.5338)
Target Persons : Target Persons A factor analysis with varimax rotation and eigenvalue resulted in three independent factors for each sample: family, friends, and acquaintances. The structure of these factors were different for each sample.
Target Effect on Expression of Emotion : Target Effect on Expression of Emotion A four-way Analyses of Variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures was conducted, with Category (3) as the between subject factor and Emotion (7), Target (3), and Context (2) as within-subjects variables.
A main effect for category was not found
F(2, 304)=2.34, p > .05
Category * Target
Wilks Lambda=.64, F(4, 606)=38.32, p < .001, η2 = 0.20
Category * Target : Category * Target
Testing Hypothesis 1 : Testing Hypothesis 1 A significant effect for Emotion
Wilks Lambda=.20, F(6, 299)=195.58, p<.001, η2=.80
A significant effect for Emotion*Category interaction
Wilks Lambda=.74, F(12, 598)=7.97, p<.001, η2=.14
Marginal Means of 7-Emotions : Marginal Means of 7-Emotions
Testing Hypothesis 2 : Testing Hypothesis 2 Category * Target * Emotion
Wilks Lambda=.67, F(24, 586)=5.38, p < .001, η2 = 0.18
Marginal Means: Family : Marginal Means: Family
Marginal Means: Friends : Marginal Means: Friends
Marginal Means: Acquaintances : Marginal Means: Acquaintances
Summary of Findings : Summary of Findings The composition of family, friends, and acquaintances varies from student to adult samples and from Canadian to immigrant samples.
Students expressed their emotions more than adults with family, friends, and acquaintances.
Canadian students expressed their emotions with family and acquaintances more than immigrant students.
Summary of Findings : Summary of Findings In general, positive emotions (happiness & Surprise) are expressed more than negative emotions (anger, contempt, disgust, fear, & sadness).
Canadian-born Adults express anger, contempt, & disgust less than Canadian-born Students and Immigrant Students.
Canadian students express more happiness and surprise than immigrant students.
Summary of Findings : Summary of Findings In expressing negative emotions (anger, contempt, disgust, & fear) to friends, Canadian adults were more like Canadian students and both groups significantly different from immigrant students.
In expressing negative emotions to acquaintances, Canadian students were more like immigrant students and both group significantly different from Canadian adults.
Conclusion : Conclusion The present findings compare with other studies on cultural differences in emotional expression among students.
The study adds an important element in the determining the stability of the previous findings as we have included an adult sample.
Future studies need to examine the relation of psychological dimensions of culture that were not examined in the present study.