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Article
Exploring cultural variation in the emotional expressivity of online drawings
Computers in Human Behavior Reports
  • Justin Thomas, Zayed University
  • Aamna Al-Shehhi, Khalifa University
  • Ian Grey, Lebanese American University
  • Tai Broach, Zayed University
ORCID Identifiers

0000-0003-1868-1003

Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2020
Abstract

Extensive research points to cross-cultural differences in emotional expressivity and the use of context in communication. This study explored these ideas through digital, online, drawings produced using Google's Quick Draw (N = 4869). The selected pictures were of fish and had been drawn by individuals from across six nations: UK, USA, Australia (individualist), Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (collectivist). Participants from individualist societies produced images expressing emotion (e.g. smiling or frowning fish) more frequently than their collectivist counterparts. Similarly, participants from individualist nations were significantly more likely to include contextualising elements within their drawings (e.g. seaweed, bubbles etc.). The results support previous work on emotional expression across cultures and research in the area of high and low context communication. This study extends these ideas into the area of computer-based drawing, suggesting Google's Quick Draw represents a useful resource for exploring emotional and cultural variation through the medium of online drawings.

Publisher
Elsevier BV
Scopus ID
85126726817
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International
Indexed in Scopus
Yes
Open Access
Yes
Open Access Type
Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series
Citation Information
Justin Thomas, Aamna Al-Shehhi, Ian Grey and Tai Broach. "Exploring cultural variation in the emotional expressivity of online drawings" Computers in Human Behavior Reports Vol. 2 (2020) p. 100002 ISSN: <p><a href="https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publication/issn/2451-9588" target="_blank">2451-9588</a></p>
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/justin-thomas28211/43/