Smiling individuals are usually perceived more favorably than non-smiling ones—they are judged as happier, more attractive, competent, and friendly. These seemingly clear and obvious consequences of smiling are assumed to be culturally universal, however most of the psychological research is carried out in WEIRD societies (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) and the influence of culture on social perception of nonverbal behavior is still understudied. Here we show that a smiling individual may be judged as less intelligent than the same non-smiling individual in cultures low on the GLOBE’s uncertainty avoidance dimension. Furthermore, we show that corruption at the societal level may undermine the prosocial perception of smiling—in societies with high corruption indicators, trust toward smiling individuals is reduced. This research fosters understanding of the cultural framework surrounding nonverbal communication processes and reveals that in some cultures smiling may lead to negative attributions.

The majority of the Kuwaiti university students opposed PAS either categorically or with a slight variation according to circumstances. Nonetheless, a minority approved of PAS in some cases, particularly when the patient was elderly.

The willingness to forgive was examined in a sample of 517 Kuwaiti citizens, aged 12 to 55 years. Participants were instructed first to read a certain number of stories (in which a harmful act was committed against a child) and then to express their willingness to forgive in each case. The stories included four factors: intent to harm, religious proximity, presence/absence of apologies, and cancellation of consequences. A high level of willingness to forgive was observed among the Kuwaitis studies, irrespective of participants' age and gender. The impact of the religious proximity factor was limited to a very small fraction of the sample.

Education plays an important role in affecting women's health in general and breastfeeding practice in particular.

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