This research examined features of emotions and display rules based on experiences on the falsifying emotional expressions. Seventy-six Japanese sophomores (22 males and 54 females) participated in this study. Students were asked to report the frequency of experiences in the simulating and masking of six emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and, surprise) in daily life. They were also asked to identify the circumstance under which they simulated and masked their emotions. Results suggested that (1) sadness, disgust, anger, and fear tend to be masked but not simulated, (2) happiness tended to be simulated but not masked, (3) surprise was seldom masked nor simulated. A cluster analysis suggested three types of falsifying emotions by simulating and masking circumstance; (1) masking of happiness, sadness, disgust, and anger, (2) simulating sadness, surprise, anger, disgust, and fear, (3) masking of surprise, fear and simulating happiness.

View full abstract

This study explains the development of 10-item scale for evaluation, named the a Voice Quality Scale for Emotion Evaluation (VQSEE). In the pilot study, adjectives to describe vocal quality in emotional expression were collected and 25 words were chosen. In Study one, participants (n=72) imagined impression of vocal expressions (voice quality) in 10 emotions (surprise, excitement, joy, content, relax, sleep, sadness, cold anger, hot anger, and fear), and evaluated each. Consequently, A factor analysis suggested three factors (warmth, intenseness and dullness). In Study two, a listening expriment for the purpose of confirming the facter structures was conducted.
Participants (n=22) evaluated the scale after listening to a male and a female voice expressing ten emotions; The result confirmed the result of Study One.

View full abstract

The effects of expression or non-expression of negative emotions have been of particular interest to researchers of emotion regulation. Among the variety of negative emotions, anger poses a particularly detrimental consequence on interpersonal relationships and mental health, whether expressed or not. The constructive expression of anger and trial of revision has been the recent focus of an effective method of anger regulation. However, the most effective tactic is contingent on the interpersonal relationship with the agent of arousal, as norms pertaining to emotional expression may differ depending on the level of intimacy or power distance. Thus, the present study examined the moderating effect of relational variables with the agent of anger arousal. A native anger regulation scale suggested a five-factor structure: Emotional expression, Constructive expression, Expression toward third person, Suppression, and Reappraisal attempt. To confirm the moderating effects of interpersonal relations, evaluations of past anger-arousing experiences between two conditions, one toward a non-intimate target with higher status, and another toward an intimate target with equal status, were compared. Results suggested that Reappraisal attempt had a positive effect on relationship evaluation in the non-intimate, higher status condition, while constructive expression had a positive effect in the intimate, equal status condition. Further examination of relationship factors, content of anger experience, and other moderating factors was discussed.

View full abstract

To examine whether emoticons are a proposition, as in language, or an image, such as a facial expression, 134 University students responded to a questionnaire to the effect of the typeface of an emoticon (two-byte Mincho vs. one-byte Gothic) and a line feed in an emoticon on the impact of the e-mail and receiver's emotion. The intensity of emotion when each script was read (sad, anxious, anger), and the intensity of their emotion after receiving messages with emoticons from a familiar friend was examined. Results suggested that the emoticon in two-byte Mincho typeface was related to a reported reduction of anxiety, as compared to one-byte Gothic typeface or a line feed in an emoticon, although the typeface of the emoticon or a line feed in the emoticon has no effect on the message relayed in the e-mail. Thus suggests that an emoticon is (1) neither an image but simply a proposition at the impact level, while at the same time (2) nor simply a proposition but instead an image at the emotion level.

View full abstract

This study examined whether excuses, which vary with the possibility of occurrence, influence ratings of forgiveness, anger, credibility, and the severity of the message. One hundred and eighty-three (183) university students were asked to read three scenarios wherein an acquaintance provided reasons for arriving late for an appointment. In these scenarios, the participants were the protagonist who were waiting for their acquaintance. The participants then rated the degree of forgiveness, anger, credibility, and the severity of the message for each reason. Results suggested that the possibility of occurrence had the opposite effect on the raters' judgments regarding credibility and forgiveness, i.e., an excuse with common content resulted in high ratings of credibility, but low ratings of forgiveness, and vice versa. Furthermore, results suggest that the ratings of forgiveness for a latecomer originate from the raters' regulation of their anger.

View full abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of shame and guilt awareness to mental health, hostility, and support-giving needs among Japanese female adolescents. First, with an open-ended questionnaire, 88 shame and guilt experiences were collected, revised, and categorized into 10 situations. Moreover, 174 Japanese female adolescents completed the questionnaires and the task, which required the participants to describe their anticipated feelings on reading the 10 vignettes that elicited shame and guilt. The task measured individual differences in emotional awareness, and the questionnaire was based on 3 scales, namely, mental health, hostility, and support-giving needs. The results indicated that shame awareness was positively related to mental health and negatively related to hostility. Furthermore, guilt awareness was positively related to support-giving needs.

View full abstract