Chinese tradition of humility and self-effacement disguises people’s true emotions, research suggests
People from East Asia may appear more modest, but study by psychologists indicates they are just as likely to be proud and self-confident as other cultures
Chinese and other people from East Asia may appear to Westerners to show more humility, but analysis of their brain waves suggest they can be as proud or arrogant as other cultures, according to a study by scientists in China and the UK.
Previous research has suggested that people in eastern and western cultures present differing images of themselves through their behaviour.
East Asian people typically give more negative descriptions of themselves while westerners can have a more inflated view of their own abilities.
East Asians are also more likely to place greater importance on group or collective values while westerners emphasis individual attributes and freedoms, according to this thinking.
But researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Southampton in Britain say these forms of behaviour could merely disguise people’s true feelings.