Cultural differences in self and affect through drawings of personal experiences

Abstract

The present studies examined whether and how individuals from the East and West would express themselves differently in their drawings of personal success and failure. Across two studies, Euro‐Canadian and Chinese participants drew a picture depicting their personal success versus failure in the past (Study 1) or future (Study 2). Compared to the Chinese, Euro‐Canadians were more likely to express high‐arousal positive and negative affect in their drawings of personal success and failure, respectively. Replicating previous research, Euro‐Canadians also depicted a bigger “self” and were more likely to draw a face on their “self” in their drawings. Together, these findings not only demonstrated cultural differences in Euro‐Canadian and Chinese representations of their self and affective responses to personal success and failure but also suggested that pictorial representations of emotionally rich personal events can be an indirect, informative, and engaging tool for assessing cultural influences on one’s self and feelings.