Factors Influencing People’s Perceptions of the Appropriateness of Affect Communication

Abstract

Although communication of non-verbal information such as affect or emotion plays important roles to maintain relationships among people, communication media have had emphasis on explicit information communication and not on affect communication. In particular, little is known about how people perceive communication of affect appropriate or not in given circumstances. This study investigated factors that influence people’s perceptions of the appropriateness of affect communication. Japanese male participants (N=167) were assessed their personality for overall trust, self-image, and empathy. Participants rated their perceptions of the appropriateness of communicating their affect in various situations involving combinations of nine factors from the seven possible responses of Display Rule Assessment Inventory. Ten factors were found to influence perceptions of the appropriateness of affect communication: valence of self-affect, valence of affect of others, social role, audience size, psychological distance, privacy, security, overall trust, self-image, and empathy. Implications for design of future communication media are discussed.