Studies on Avoided Affect across Latin America, South Korea, and the U.S.

Prior research suggests that individuals in Latin American cultures value positivity, striving for and expressing positive emotions more than East Asian individuals and at times experiencing them more than European American individuals. Paradoxically, Latines also avoid negative emotions less than European Americans. To better understand these patterns, this research examines cultural variation in affect valuation across East Asian, Latin American, and U.S. cultural contexts, asking participants which emotions they a) ideally want to feel, b) actually feel and c) want to avoid. Studies 1 and 2 compare ideal, actual, and avoided affect across samples from Ecuador, Colombia, South Korea, and the U.S., considering emotions that vary in both arousal and social engagement. Study 3 extends this work by examining associations with personal values, interpersonal goals, and well-being among Colombian, South Korean, and U.S. American individuals. Together, these findings highlight how cultural values and interpersonal goals may shape not only the emotions people want to experience, but also those they seek to avoid, with implications for understanding how these emotions shape well-being across cultures.