ABSTRACT
Action tendencies are a central component of an emotional experience, but they have rarely been studied, particularly across cultures. The present study examines the action tendencies associated with the emotional experience of anger in Hong Kong (n = 110) and the United Kingdom (n = 136). As predicted, individuals from the United Kingdom (UK) were more likely to report direct aggression action tendencies than individuals from Hong Kong. Furthermore, individuals from Hong Kong were more likely to report displaced aggression action tendencies than individuals from the UK. These cultural differences in action tendency cast doubt over the theory of display rules, suggesting that there may be differences across cultures in the action tendencies as well as the emotional display associated with anger. In an attempt to ‘unpackage’ this cultural influence the study also examines the hypothesis that individual differences in emotional experience across cultures can be accounted for by differences in self-construal. Partial support is found for this hypothesis.
