People in China smile less than people in the US while in public

What is it about?

We measured rates of smiling across cultures comparing US and European Americans with East Asian Americans and people in China. In Study 1, we coded students' school ID photos at the University of Virginia for smiling both in the mouth area and the eye area. European American students smiled more both in the mouth and eye area. Next, we coded real-world smiling of people walking across campus at the University of Virginia and Beijing Normal University. In the US, 40% of people were smiling. In China, 20% of people were smiling. In China, smiling was almost completely absent among people walking alone (3%). But 29% of people walking alone in the US were smiling.

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Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash

Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The results of our study suggest that smiling is more common in the US and among European Americans in the US than in China and among Asian Americans. This extended both to the more formal setting of school ID photos and the more natural setting of walking on campus. The higher rates of smiling suggest there are different social norms about smiling across cultures. Smiling might be more welcome or expected in European American culture in the US. What's more, smiling was almost non-existent among people walking alone in China. This could suggest that smiling serves more as a signal of a direct social interaction, whereas smiling in the US often signals a person's internal feelings or a general social signal that is not a direct part of a conversation.

Perspectives

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It's great to have real-world measures of smiling across cultures. This study combines observational methods of people walking in everyday life with the more controlled situation of ID photos. The ID photos are easier to code systematically, although the situation is more posed. The coding of people walking across campus is harder to control, but it reflects a more natural form of behavior.

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