Population Diversity and Ancestral Diversity As Distinct Contributors to Outgroup Prejudice

Ancestral Diversity: A Socioecological Account of Emotion Culture

Cultural differences in emotion expression, experience, and regulation can cause misunderstandings with lasting effects on interpersonal, intergroup, and international relations. A full account of the factors responsible for the emergence of different cultures of emotion is therefore urgent. Here we propose that the ancestral diversity of regions of the world, determined by colonization and sometimes forced migration of humans over centuries, explains significant variation in cultures of emotion. We review findings that relate the ancestral diversity of the world's countries to present-day differences in display rules for emotional expression, the clarity of expressions, and the use of specific facial expressions such as the smile. Results replicate at the level of the states of the United States, which also vary in ancestral diversity. Further, we suggest that historically diverse contexts provide opportunities for individuals to exercise physiological processes that support emotion regulation, resulting in average regional differences in cardiac vagal tone. We conclude that conditions created by the long-term commingling of the world's people have predictable effects on the evolution of emotion cultures and provide a roadmap for future research to analyze causation and isolate mechanisms linking ancestral diversity to emotion.

Economic Inequality Shapes the Relationship Between Globalization and Prejudice

As globalization increases worldwide, it redefines our conceptions of other cultures, the media we consume, and our day-to-day interactions. Despite this increased interconnectivity, we lack a fundamental understanding of how globalization is related to prejudicial attitudes between social groups. We hypothesized that economic inequality may shape the relationship between globalization and intergroup prejudice. We tested this prediction with data from over 66,000 respondents across 44 countries. We found that globalization—and particularly its social aspects such as tourism and migration—is related to increased prejudice in countries with high economic inequality and is related to decreased prejudice in countries with low economic inequality. These findings offer new insight into how and why globalization may shape intergroup relations around the world.