Japanese anger expression styles and their interpersonal influence

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate Japanese anger expression styles and their influence on interpersonal relationships. In the initial study, 239 undergraduates were asked to complete a questionnaire which assessed seven distinct anger expression styles. The results indicated that the participants most often employed three anger expression styles including hyojo-kucho (nonverbal), tohmawashi (implicit), and itsumodori (none). In the second study, 162 undergraduates were asked to watch these three anger expression styles portrayed on videotape. Participants rated the degree to which the actor in the videotape felt angry and their impressions toward male or female actors in either higher, lower, or equal status, same-sex situations. The findings indicated that the effect on interpersonal relationships varied across the three different expression styles. This study has important implications for understanding Japanese anger expression in interpersonal, and perhaps cross-cultural, relationships.