The Effect of Vertical Spatial Positioning on the Perceived Strength of an Emotion: a Cross-Cultural Study.

Abstract

This thesis studied whether the way in which people position themselves in the vertical space in comparison to the other has an influence on how strongly anger as an emotion is perceived. Data was collected through an online survey among Dutch and American respondents. We did not find support for an effect of vertical spatial positioning on the perceived strength of anger. However, this study did provide evidence that nationality has an influence on the perceived strength of an emotion. American respondents perceived the people in the photos to be more angry than how strongly the Dutch perceived them. Additional analyses also suggest that women may be perceived as more angry than men. Our findings that Americans perceive anger as an emotion stronger than the Dutch can be applied to contexts of intercultural communication.