PART A: INTRODUCTION

i. Rationale

“One’s eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears”

Heraclitus

To our understanding, language is a great heaven prize and treasure for human in order to

fulfill our vital needs as the social beings: communication. Language appeared, remains

and flourishes along with human history. With the seen development of language and

language studies at the moment, there is no need in proving the crucial and irreplaceable

position of language in human life.

However, there are now more and more researchers believing that communication without

spoken and written words, termed “nonverbal communication” (NVC), is of vital role. As

Heraclitus states above, people tend to rely on NVC and to base the partners’ message on

the nonverbal cues they receive. One more important thing is that even nonverbal

communication takes a big part in transferring meaning in communication; most people do

not know how to read other’s behaviors. Thus, the question is: what shape our behaviors

and decision? For a successful communication event, one possible answer is emotion.

Therefore, the studies into nonverbal expressions for internal emotions have been paid

much attention to. The primary emotional states studied include: surprise, fear, disgust,

anger, sadness and happiness. Nevertheless, disappointment, one of two primary emotions

(together with regret) that involve in decision-making – the success of a communication

event, has not been much concerned.

All of this leads the author to the research naming: “An American – Vietnamese cross-

cultural study on non-verbal expressions of disappointment”. This preliminary study

tries to feature out the most common nonverbal expressions for disappointment in order

that a successful communication event can be achieved between American and Vietnamese

communicators.

ii. Aims of the study

This research aims to:

- investigate the most common nonverbal expressions for disappointment used by

Americans and Vietnamese in cross-cultural communication.

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- raise the awareness of the importance of NVC and suggest ways to improve cross-cultural

NVC.

In order to achieve the set aims of the study the research questions are as follows:

- What are the most common nonverbal expressions for disappointment used by Americans

and/or Vietnamese?

- What are the similarities and differences between American and Vietnamese nonverbal

expressions of disappointment?

iii. Scope of the study

Nonverbal messages are widely transferred through many channels. For the common

consideration, it includes: paralanguage, body language, object language and environment

language, of which object language and environment language do not have much

contribution to express emotions which include disappointment. It comes to our awareness

that paralanguage (the vocal characteristics, types of vocal flow, vocal interferences,

silence…) adds a high percentage to the process of communication. However, due to the

time constraint and lack of reliable equipment (voice recorder, voice analyzer…), this kind

of factor will be unavoidably out of the scope of the study.

So, the study only focuses on body language. That is, this study limits itself to facial

expressions, gestures and postures only.

iv. Methods of the study

In order to set up a firm theoretical background for the study, relevant publications are

critically reviewed. Information from the Internet sites and previous studies are also

referred to.

The main method used in this study is quantitative with the illustration of tables and charts

presenting statistic data. The analysis is mainly based on the data collected through the

survey questionnaires.

Consultation with the supervisor, discussion with colleagues, as well as the author’s

observation in daily life and his own experience in cross-cultural communication are also

of great help in finding out the answers to the research questions.

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v. Organization of the study

The study will be organized into the following structure:

Part A: INTRODUCTION outlines the rationale, the methodology, the aims, the scope, the

significance and the organization of the study.

Part B: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1 LITERATURE REVIEW reviews the theoretical issues. It briefly presents and

discusses the theory of communication, NVC with more detailed discussion on facial

expressions, gestures and postures which are major parts of body language.

Disappointment as a human feeling and its nonverbal expressions are also discussed.

Chapter 2 METHODOLOGY describes the data collecting instrument, the informants and

research procedures.

Chapter 3 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS OF THE FINDINGS presents and

discusses similarities and differences in how to express disappointment nonverbally by the

American and the Vietnamese.

Part C: CONCLUSION

Summary of major findings

Conclusion and Implications for cross-cultural communication

Limitations of the study and Suggestions for further study.

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1. CULTURE

As Harrison and Huntington noted, “the term ‘culture,’ of course, has had different

meanings in different disciplines and different contexts”. By stating “culture is the human-

made part of the environment,” W.J.Lonner and R.S.Malpass (1994:7) contrast the culture

and the nature. In their ideas, things in environment will never become cultural without the

“touch” of human.

According to H. Triandis (1994:23), “Culture is a set of human-made objective and

subjective elements that in the past have increased the probability of survival and resulted

in satisfaction for the participants in a ecological niche, and this became shared among

those who could communicate with each other because they had a common language and

they lived in the same time and place.” The subjective elements of culture here are

elements such as values, attitudes, beliefs, orientations and underlying assumptions

prevalent among people in a society. All of these elements act as a framework that

influences your interpretation of the world and interactions in it.

1.2. COMMUNICATION

1.2.1. Definition of Communication

“We are great communicators”

Liz & John Soars: 1997

We, human beings, communicate during our whole life for our own purpose. A child cries

(communicates) to his parents as he needs changing his diaper or feeding. Family members

communicate for help and emotional support and to maintain a good family atmosphere. At

work, people communicate for the purpose of exchanging ideas, negotiating… Leaders

communicate their visions to their staff. Executives communicate to the lower-level

employees. Organizations communicate to their customers and the public. Press

conferences, press releases, employee newsletters, catalogues, direct mail, phone calls,

employee suggestion systems, meetings, formal performance appraisals, on-the-job

feedback from managers, attitude surveys, speeches, conference room briefings, letters,

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memos and evaluation forms - all of these are examples of communication. We now come

to a conclusion that communication is very important in our lives, as Hybels (1992:5)

claims “Communication, then, is vital to our lives. To live is to communicate.”

Larry A., Richard E. Porter and Edwin R. McDaniel (2006:12) select the all-encompassing

definition of “human communication is the process through which symbols are transmitted

for the purpose of eliciting a response”. Lustig (1996:29) defines communication as “a

symbolic process in which people create shared meanings”. In the both definitions, the

centre is “symbol”. A symbol may be “a word, action or object”, containing thoughts,

perception or feelings one wants to communicate with others.

1.2.2. Forms of Communication

Communication as claimed by Lustig above is the process of exchange shared meanings.

And in order to create share meaning, people have to use code or symbol. In reality, the

two kinds of code or symbol are verbal (spoken and written) and nonverbal (unspoken).

These are referred to as forms of communication.

To get a better view, communication can be illustrated in the following diagram:

1.2.3. Components of Communication

The followings are components of communication according to Hymes: 1972.

- Situation: setting and sense

- Participants: speaker, presenter, hearer, receiver, narrator

- End: purpose, result or goal

- Act sequences: model or language content

- Key: Clues that establish the "tone, manner, or spirit" of the speech act.

- Instrumentalities: channel, form or style

- Norms: norms of interpretation, norms of interaction

- Genres: kind of speech act or event

COMMUNICATION

VERBAL COMMUNICATION NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

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Among these, the participants (speaker and hearer) and situation are prominent to the

choice of message coder (language or nonverbal cues used). The participants’ background

impacts much on the choice of the coder used. The background includes: age, sex, living

place, occupation… When discussing different participants and situations, the underlying

effect of power (P), social distance (D) and rank of imposition (R) have to be considered.

With combination of the three factors, the choice of message coder can be in diversity.

1.2.4. Cross-cultural communication

The relationship between culture and communication is often compared with the bond

between the voice and the echo. From culture and communication, there are three branches

of communication as follows:

Intra-cultural communication: is the communication between people who live in the same

country and come from the same cultural background.

Inter-cultural communication: is the communication between people who live in the same

country but come from different cultural background.

Cross-cultural communication: is the communication between people who live in different

countries and come from different cultural background.

Coming from different geographic locations and holding different values, beliefs,… people

in cross-cultural communication face more problems than in intra-cultural and inter-

cultural branches. This is because people have different ways of interpreting social

meanings conveyed in their interaction with the outside world.

1.3. NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

1.3.1 Definition of nonverbal communication

In the process of communication, people do not only send verbal messages but nonverbal

ones as well. NVC is understood as a way of communicating without the use of written or

spoken language.

According to Lustig (1996:187-188), “nonverbal communication is a multi-channeled

process that is usually performed simultaneously; it typically involves a subtle set of

nonlinguistic behaviors that are often enacted subconsciously. Nonverbal behaviors can

become part of the communication process when someone intentionally tries to convey a

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message or when someone attributes meaning to the nonverbal behavior of another,

whether or not the person intend to communicate a particular meaning.” As Lustig pointed

out, when some meaning is attached to a nonlinguistic behavior, whether by message

transmitter or perceiver, that behavior becomes part of communication process.

The detailed description of NVC is presented by Nguyen Quang “all the components of the

message that, when taken together, constitute the communication which is not verbally

coded but both vocally and non-vocally channeled. Nonverbal communication is composed

of paralinguistic factors (nonverbal - vocal channel), such as rate, volume, etc., and extra-

linguistic factors (nonverbal - non-vocal channel), such as body language (gestures,

postures, facial expressions,…) object language (including clothing, jewelry…) and

environmental language (proxemics, settings…)”.

1.3.2 Importance of nonverbal communication

Most people believe the best way of communicating is verbal. However, NVC is there,

even when people do not speak a word. Pease (1984:7) states “The miracle is that human

hardly recognize his or her appearance, movements and gestures can tell one story while

his or her voice is telling another story.” (Cited in Nguyen Quang).

A number of researches, with different approach and methods have pointed out the

importance of NVC.

Albert Mehrabian found that the total impact of a message is about 7 percent verbal (words

only), 38 percent vocal (including tone of voice, inflection and other sounds) and 55

percent nonverbal. (Pease, 1984:6)

Importance of nonverbal communication - Mehrabian

7%

93%

VerbalNonverbal

Chart 1: Importance of Nonverbal Communication

It is easy to conclude that NVC is an indispensable and all pervasive element in human

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behavior. Perhaps its most obvious application is found in the fact that young children start

comprehending words at around six months of age yet understand NVC well before that

time. Hence, from the moment of birth to the end of life, NVC is an important symbol

system.

1.3.3. Differences between Nonverbal Communication and Verbal Communication

First of all, NVC seems to be more ambiguous than verbal communication. This is because

nonverbal cues can be intentional or unintentional. If an intentional behavior is perceived

and interpreted correctly, this can help to maintain good communication. Meanwhile, if an

unintentional behavior is interpreted as conveying meaning, it can cause the social

interaction to go wrongly or even stop. Additionally, the nonverbal cues can carry various

meanings. A silence can be interpreted as: agreement, disagreement, wondering, waiting

for other’s response, an indicator of surprise or happiness…

Secondly, NVC is continuous. Verbal communication only starts when people start to

make sounds in an organized order and stops when the sound chunks stop. However, NVC

starts when someone appears in communicating partner’s sight, continues even when the

two people keep silent, and only ends when one gets out of the other’s sight.

Thirdly, NVC is multi-channeled. Units of verbal communication appear in a linear order

in accordance with rules of grammar, vocabulary…. Nonverbal cues appear at the same

time, requesting us to receive by some, even all five of our senses. There are not only cues

but also cluster of cues and areas of cues.

Fourthly, NVC reveals more about human’s emotion than verbal communication. Verbal

communication is often thought to be accurate in describing the various emotional states.

In fact, it only describes either one aspect or one status of that emotional state.

The fifth characteristic of NVC is that people tend to rely on NVC if there is contradiction

between verbal messages and nonverbal messages.

Last but not least, nonverbal cues can be perceived and interpreted differently in different

societies. The same meanings can be expressed by different nonverbal cues and the same

cues can be interpreted as conveying different meanings in different cultures.

1.3.4 Classification of nonverbal communication

Dwyer (2000) classifies NVC into: body movement, physical characteristics, touch, vocal

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characteristics (paralanguage), space (proximity), artifacts, and environment.

Hybels categorizes NVC into paralanguage, body movement/ kinesics, proxemics,

chronemics, aesthetics, physical characteristics and artifacts.

Lustig et. al. discusses six types of nonverbal codes including: body movement/ kinesics,

touch, time/ chronemics, voice, and other nonverbal code systems, consisting of chemical,

physical, dermal and artifactual systems.

Of the various classifications, Nguyen Quang (2001:9) presents a detailed and easy-to-

follow one in the diagram below.

Diagram 1: Classification of Nonverbal Communication

1.3.5. Nonverbal communication across culture

As shown in the discussion of differences between NVC and verbal communication,

Nonverbal Communication

Paralanguage Extralanguage

- Vocal characteristics+ Pitch+ Volume+ Rate+ Vocal quality

- Types of vocal flow

- Vocal interferences

- Silence…

Body language/ Kinesics

Object language/ Artifacts

Environmental language

- Eye contact- Facial

expressions- Physical

characteristics- Gestures- Postures- Body

movements- Touch/ Haptics/

Tactile…

- Clothing- Jewelry- Accessories- Make-up- Artifactual

scents- Gifts- Flowers…

- Setting- Conversational

distance/ Proxemics

- Time/ Chronemics

- Lighting system

- Color- Heat…

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nonverbal cues can be ambiguous even with people of the same culture. With people from

different cultures, this is obviously more problematic.

A big amount of nonverbal cues are culture-specific. This means these cues convey the

messages that only members of that culture can interpret correctly.

1.4. DISAPPOINTMENT AND ITS NONVERBAL EXPRESSIONS

The size of your success is measured by the strength on your desire, the size of your dream,

and how you handle disappointment along the way

Robert Kiyosaki

Is there any one here who has not experienced disappointment in his or her life? It is one of

the oldest human experiences. Each of us could make a lot of our unfulfilled wishes or

seeds we planted which never grew into plants. Anyone who has hopes or dreams may be

waited by some disappointment. When their hopes or dreams can not become true.

Alexander Pope wrote “Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be

disappointed”.

Disappointment is a problem which transcends economics. We can be well-off financially

and still have all kinds of disappointment. We can be disappointed with our family

members, disappointed with our friends, with our marriage, or jobs for not reaching

whatever goals we have set for ourselves. We can be disappointed because our life lacks

meaning and direction.

Let us consider a situation described by David E. B. (Jan-Feb. 1985): your boss tells you

he is delighted with your performance over the past year and is giving you a $5000 bonus.

Are you pleased? If you were not expecting a bonus, you would be delighted. If you were

expecting a $10,000 bonus, you would be disappointed. He (David E. Bell) claims that

“Disappointment is, then, a psychological reaction to an outcome that does not match up

to expectations”.

In a broader view, Loralea Michaelis states “Disappointment is a characteristic feature of

our shared condition as mortal creatures subject to the experiences of failure and

frustration: our plans may go awry, our actions may have unwanted consequences, our

expectations may be frustrated and, in a more general sense, we are rarely the kind of

people we would like to be.”

It is stated in a sermon in St. Ansgar’s Lutheran Church that “ in the simplest terms,

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disappointment is unmet positive expectation. The word positive here is important. There

are some unmet expectation which bring us joy and satisfaction and not disappointment.

For example you might go to see a physician with the expectation that your symptoms will

lead to a diagnosis of terminal cancer. You will not be disappointed if that expectation

proves to be false. Disappointment occurs when we expect a certain good thing to take

place and it doesn’t.”

The same idea can be seen from Levering Bas “The question is whether expectation is a

sufficient condition for disappointment. Do unfulfilled expectations by definition lead to

disappointment? When a negative expectation is nourished, that is, when I expect

something I would rather not see happen, and in fact it does not happen, then I feel relief

instead of disappointment. The question is whether relief can been seen as the opposite of

disappointment in the sense that the former is about a cheerful feeling and the latter about

an unpleasant one. If I pass an exam about which I have had the most anxious

expectations. I am first relieved, then glad. This means that when talking about

disappointment, there are always desired expectations involved.”

According to Moyo-Angle Bamidele, “everyone that has expectations and desires in life

will experience disappointment in one way or the other” and we experience disappointment

when:

- When we expect something to happen soon but it does not

- When input is not equal to output

- When things does not work out as plan

- When we believe too much in people

- When we expect things to happen in our own ways but they do not.

According to David. E. Bell (Jan.1985), disappointment is similar to regret:

“Disappointment is the feeling of dissatisfaction that follows the failure of expectations to

manifest. Similar to regret, it differs in that the individual feeling regret focuses primarily

on personal choices contributing to a poor outcome, while the individual feeling

disappointment focuses on outcome.”

Francesco Marcatto and Donatella Ferrante claim that regret and disappointment are

different emotions. They are both generated by comparing “What is” with “What might

have been”. However, “the emotion of regret results from a comparison between an actual

outcome and a better outcome that might have occurred had another option been chosen

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(choice- or –behavior-focused counterfactual). Conversely, disappointment stems from the

comparison of an actual outcome with a better outcome that might have resulted had world

events occurred differently (situation-focused counterfactuals) (van Djik, van der Pligt &

Zeelenberg, 1999)”

Disappointment may be very short-lasting and easy to transfer to another emotional state,

anger, frustration or the like. This emotional state can also be very harmful because it may

lead to the following in communication:

- Lack of trust.

- Destruction of relationship

- Changing our perceptions to life, people and things we do.

According to many researchers and the author’s personal observation, expressions of

disappointment is highly-culture-controlled. In most Oriental countries, people, especially

women, are taught not to express their emotional states, especially ones like

disappointment, in social interaction in order to maintain the harmony in the community.

However, at many points during the communication process, disappointment is

intentionally expressed, not verbally but non-verbally, in order to let the partners to know

our own emotional state.

From the author’s own observation and analysis of videos and photos searched on the

Internet, the most popular expressions for disappointment are as follows:

Facial expressions:

When disappointed, people seem to have abnormal head positions which include: side-

tilted (left or right side), head-down (tilted forward) or face-up (to the ceiling). The side-

tilted position can be found mostly when people are sitting while head-down and face-up is

often found with standing postures.

The eyes of disappointed people tend to lower down or to aim at nothing. Many cases are

found with frowning eyes – eyebrows are pushed together. Another popular cue is the

curve-up of eyebrows with frowning forehead. In addition, the disappointed gaze is not

very often straight. It is often down-looking with lowered eyelids, sometimes up-looking or

side-looking, especially, when people try to control the disappointment, they tend to move

eye sight from side to side, avoiding eye contact with communicating partners.

With mouth, there are some popular cues including: contorted (pushed to one side),

pouting (upper and/or lower lip pushed up). Sometimes, the stiff lips are also found with

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hard-pressed lips and jaws making lips thinner than in normal state. There are still cases in

which people have smirks – or contorted smiles.

For gestures, it is the most common to find hand-with-face gestures and hand-with-head

gestures. They can be: one palm covering one eye and/or cheek, one palm covering

forehead, both hands covering face, one or both hands touching or pulling hair. With

sitting postures, fisted hand or hands, open palm or palms pushing cheeks or supporting

chin can be found. Another popular cue is the wide open arms with shrugging shoulders.

With standing posture, the cue of arms over head (like religious gesture of Muslim people

when praying to Allah) is also found. Besides, the followings are also met: thumb-down

gesture together with spouting lips, head shaking from side to side while spouting lips and

maintaining lower look.

Disappointed postures vary into categories: sitting and standing. For sitting postures, the

followings can be found: collapsed posture with slouching arms and head down, head

resting on folded arms, whole body collapsed with chin resting on table, semi-lying posture

(like ownership posture with feet on floor) and knees up head down. For standing and

walking postures, the most common are collapsed standing posture with head down or face

up, with slouching arms or hands resting on hips. The following shift-of-postures are

regularly met: from normal posture, especially sitting one, shifting to a collapsed one with

back resting; from standing posture shifting to a sitting or lying one. When people are

trying to put their disappointment under control, they can shift the head from the normal

state into a face-up (often found with middle open mouth), maintain some seconds and

then back to the normal state.

Followings are some illustrations of nonverbal expressions of disappointment.

Head position: The head in this expression is little tilted to the left

or right

Facial cues: The lower eyelids are a bit pulled down and the eye

gaze fixes at a low or sided position. Lips do not close completely

and lip corners are a little pulled down.

Posture: Standing or sitting posture, arms are folded in a standard

arm-cross

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Head position: The head is often side-tilted.

Facial cues: Both lower and upper eyelids fall down making the eye

gaze a little down. The lower lip is a bit pulled down and the mouth

does not completely close.

Gesture: The arms are straight down along the body in standing

posture or put on thighs in sitting one.

Head position: The head is often in straight position.

Facial cues: Both upper and lower eyelids fall down while inner

corners of eyebrows are raised making a frowning forehead. The eye

gaze is often a little down The lips are in normal state

Gesture: Both hands are straight, holding cheeks

Head position: The head is often bent forward and/or little tilted.

Facial cues: The lower eyelids are pulled down with eyebrows

curving up making the forehead frowning. The eye gaze is often

fixed at a low position.

Gesture: One hand supports the chin and covers the mouth with

fingers close.

Posture: This is a sitting posture with bending-down back, one

elbow putting on the thighs.

Facial cues: Both upper and lower eyelids are pulled down with

eyebrows being pushed together. The eye gaze is fixed on the floor

or a very low position. The lower lip is a bit pushed up making the

area between lower lip and chin like a hollow.

Head position: The head is straight or little forward-leaning.

Facial cues: This face seems to have nothing “abnormal” except a

little frown on the forehead made by the little raise and drawing-

together of the inner corners of eyebrows. The eyes are expressive

with low eye gaze which does not focus. Lips, chin and nose are in

neutral states.

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Head position: The head is often straight or little tilted.

Facial cues: Both upper and lower eyelids are pulled down while the

inner corners of eyebrows are raised, making the curving lines on the

forehead. The lower lip is raised whereas the lips corners are pulled

down shaping the mouth into a reversed “u”. The muscles below lip

corners are pulled down while the area between lower lip and chin is

pulled up.

Facial cues: Every part on the face is neutral except the eye. The

upper eyelids are little drawn back making the eyes open but the eye

gaze is at nothing – a blank look.

Posture: This is sitting posture with knee up, head down. The chin

rests on the knees and arms are put around the legs

Head position: The head is often straight or little forward.

Facial cues: The face here is mostly covered by the hand but

normally it is neutral with close eyes.

Gesture: One hand with spreading fingers cover most of the face,

with fingers touching the face skin. Mouth and nose are often

covered up.

Head position: The head is side-tilted with the support from one

hand over the ear.

Facial cues: The face is often blank, with just some frown over the

forehead.

Posture: This is a sitting posture with knees raised to support arms

(elbow position).

Posture: This is a sitting posture in which knees are up, head is

down. The back is bent forward and arms folded on the knees for the

forehead to rest on.

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Facial cues: This is similar to sad face with eyelids pulled down.

The eye gaze is often fixed at nothing. Cheeks are pushed up

Gesture: Both hands open with fingers upward, holding cheeks and

supporting chin.

Posture: This is a sitting posture with legs folded, knees raised to

support arms. The back is bent forward.

Posture: This is a sitting posture with legs tightly close, vertical to

the floor. The back is bent forward. Arms rest on knees and support

the face. Hands open, palms are upward, covering the face.

Posture: This is a walking posture with disappointed face and head

down and straight arms

Posture: This is a standing posture with disappointed face and head

down. The body leans against something.

Facial cues: The face is characterized with the raise of inner corners

of eyebrows and a curving-lined forehead accompanied with an open

mouth.

Posture: This is a standing posture in which the knees are in a little

lower position so legs are not straight. Legs are also straight in other

variations.

Gesture: Both arms are raised high to face. Hands are holding the

head.

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Facial cues: This is often accompanied with open mouth and

strongly-pressed teeth. The nose is pushed up while lip corners are

drawn to face sides.

Posture: It is a standing posture with knees in lower position so the

whole body is lowered.

Gesture: Both hands are in fists, putting in front of the chest.

Facial cues: The face is upward with mouth opening.

Posture: This is a standing posture with hands resting on hips.

Posture: This is a standing posture with upper half of body bending

down, hand or hands holding head.

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

2.1. COMMENTS ON THE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES AND DATA

COLLECTION METHOD:

This research use data collected from various sources.

Firstly, the most common expressions of disappointment have been found from video-

sharing services, photo-sharing services on the Internet

Then, questionnaires are distributed to Americans who have lived or worked with

Vietnamese, and Vietnamese who have lived or worked with the Americans. Hybels claims

“Often we do not recognize our own nonverbal behavior” (Hybels, 1992:109). This is a

study on cross-cultural communication, so the author decided to investigate one’s

nonverbal expressions of disappointment through the observation, perception and

interpretation of their communicating partners. That is, the American informants were

asked to give their comments on their Vietnamese communicating partners’ nonverbal

expressions of disappointment, and the Vietnamese informants were asked to comment on

the way their American communicating partners express their disappointment nonverbally.

The questionnaire has three parts:

Part 1 is designed for getting personal information of the informants including the length of

stay or work with Vietnamese/American people and the informants’ understanding about

host cultures or culture of their communicating partners.

Part 2 investigates the most common nonverbal expressions of disappointment used by

American and Vietnamese people. Here are some of the expressions believed to express

disappointment and informants were asked to choose the frequency at which each

expression is used by American and Vietnamese people.

Question 1: From your personal observation, how often do Vietnamese people use the

following nonverbal behaviors to express their disappointment? Please choose from 1 to 3

(1 = Never, 2 = Sometimes and 3 = Always)

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Part 3 includes three questions to get the information about American and Vietnamese

people’s amount of expressiveness in general and under the influence of some components

of communication such as communicating partners and communicating situations.

The survey questions are as follows:

Question 2: From your personal observation, do Vietnamese/ American people tend to

clearly express or hide their disappointment?

Question 3: From your personal observation, do Vietnamese/ American people express

freely or control their disappointment with the following communicating partners (boss,

colleague, subordinate, client, close friend, family member and stranger)

Question 3: In the following situations (at home, in public places and at work), do

Vietnamese/ American people express freely or control their disappointment?

2.2. COMMENTS ON THE INFORMANTS

45 survey questionnaires were handed out and 45 survey questionnaires returned to the

author were then analyzed. There are 15 American informants and 30 Vietnamese

informants.

American informants have stayed or worked with their Vietnamese communicating

partners from 0.5 year to 11 years while Vietnamese informants have stayed or worked

with their American communicating partners from 0.5 year to 8 years. Therefore, all

informants were divided into 2 groups basing on their length of stay or work with

communicating partners: less than 1 year and more than 1 year.

Similarly, the informants’ knowledge of their communicating partners’ culture varies and

therefore informants were divided into 3 groups: much understanding, not much

understanding and no understanding.

The parameters of informants can be seen clearly in the table below.

Informants groups

More than1 year

Less than1 year

Much understandi

ng

Not much understandi

ng

No understanding

American 7 8 2 9 4Vietnamese 13 21 2 24 4

Table 1: Informants’ parameters

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2.3. THE PROCEDURE OF DATA COLLECTION

The pilot questionnaires are initially distributed among a small group as pilot ones. After

being revised, the complete questionnaires are given to informants.

However, there might be a few cases in which informants are reluctant and unwilling to

answer the questions or they just put it randomly. Therefore, the findings should be thought

to be suggestive and tentative.

2.4. DATA ANALYSIS METHOD

After being collected, the data is statistically analyzed using quantitative method. The

findings are mainly based on frequency distribution.

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CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS

3.1. DATA ANALYSIS:

3.1.1. Most common expressions of disappointment used by Vietnamese and

American people

American Vietnamese American Vietnamese American Vietnamese1 10.0% 13.3% 30.0% 26.7% 60.0% 60.0%2 63.3% 53.3% 30.0% 46.7% 6.7% 0.0%3 43.3% 46.7% 50.0% 33.3% 6.7% 20.0%4 53.3% 66.7% 26.7% 26.7% 20.0% 6.7%5 46.7% 86.7% 33.3% 13.3% 20.0% 0.0%6 16.7% 0.0% 33.3% 20.0% 50.0% 80.0%7 83.3% 0.0% 16.7% 33.3% 0.0% 66.7%8 6.7% 53.3% 26.7% 26.7% 66.7% 20.0%9 86.7% 66.7% 10.0% 20.0% 3.3% 13.3%

10 13.3% 0.0% 43.3% 46.7% 43.3% 53.3%11 10.0% 6.7% 30.0% 66.7% 60.0% 26.7%12 0.0% 46.7% 83.3% 26.7% 16.7% 26.7%13 56.7% 60.0% 36.7% 40.0% 6.7% 0.0%14 10.0% 6.7% 66.7% 13.3% 23.3% 80.0%15 13.3% 0.0% 50.0% 13.3% 36.7% 86.7%16 10.0% 46.7% 50.0% 33.3% 40.0% 20.0%17 10.0% 6.7% 46.7% 33.3% 43.3% 60.0%18 16.7% 20.0% 20.0% 33.3% 63.3% 46.7%19 10.0% 6.7% 66.7% 26.7% 23.3% 66.7%

ExpressionFrequency

Always Sometimes Never

Table 2: American and Vietnamese common expressions of disappointment

The table expresses the frequency of occurrence of some nonverbal expressions of

disappointment in American and Vietnamese cultures. The most commonly used

expression in American community is expression number 9 which is always used by

86.7%, sometimes used by 10% and never used by 3.3% of American people. Similarly,

the most common expression in Vietnamese culture is expression number 5 which is also

always used at the rate of 86.7%, sometimes used at the rate of 13.3% and never used at the

rate of 0%.

21

Expre

ssion No. 9 Expression No. 5

It can be seen that the least common expression among American people is number 8

which is never used by 66.7%, sometimes used by 26.7% and always used by 6.7% of

American people. Whereas in Vietnamese culture, the least common expression is number

15 with 86.7% never used, 13.3% sometimes used and no one always uses.

Expression No. 8 Expression No. 15

It is obviously seen that American and Vietnamese people share some common

expressions. They are: 2, 4, 5, 9 and 13, of which each is always used by the higher

percentage of people than the percentage of sometimes and never in both cultures.

Expression

2

Expression 4 Expression 5 Expression 9 Expression 13

There are 3 expressions which are common in Vietnamese culture while they are used by

American people at very low percentage. They are: expression number 8, 12 and 16. And

22

on the other hand, the expression number 7 is only common (always used by 83.3%

people) in American culture whereas it is never used by 66.7% of Vietnamese people.

Expression 7 Expression 8Expression

12

Expression 16

3.1.2. Amount of expressiveness in American and Vietnamese cultures

Amount of expressiveness American VietnameseClear expression 6.7% 13.3%Not clear expression 73.3% 60.0%No expression 20.0% 26.7%

Table 3: Amount of expressiveness in American and Vietnamese cultures

It can be seen from the table that most American and Vietnamese people choose not to

show their disappointment clearly in social interaction. 73.3% of American people do not

have clear expression of disappointment while 60% of Vietnamese people select to do the

same.

6.7%

20.0%13.3%

60.0%

26.7%

73.3%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

Clear expression Not clearexpression

No expression

AmericanVietnamese

Chart 2: Amount of expressiveness in American and Vietnamese cultures

23

However, the difference between the two figures indicates that Vietnamese people do not

show clear expression of disappointment as much as the Americans. Therefore, it is

understandable that the percentage of Vietnamese people who choose not to show their

disappointment is higher than that of American people (26.7% and 20% respectively).

Meanwhile, there are still 13.3% of Vietnamese people showing their disappointment

clearly whereas this percentage of American people is fairly low (6.7%).

3.1.3. Amount of expressiveness in Vietnamese and American cultures as seen from

informants’ parameters

Culturally, the background of communicators has great impact on the perception and

interpretation of the nonverbal messages. Thus, the researcher tries to find out the

influence of some of informants’ parameters on the way they “decode” the nonverbal cues

of their communicating partners.

3.1.3.1. Length of stay or work with native people

American informants have stayed or worked with their Vietnamese communicating

partners from 0.5 year to 11 years while Vietnamese informants have stayed or worked

with their American communicating partners from 0.5 year to 8 years. However, if the

informants are divided by the mean value, the numbers of informants in two groups are

significantly unequal. As a result, the informants are divided into 2 groups basing on their

length of stay or work with native people: less than 1 year and more than 1 year. The

statistical result is as follows:

Clear expression

Not clear expression

No expression

Clear expression

Not clear expression

No expression

More than 1 year 0.0% 90.9% 9.1% 0.0% 80.0% 20.0%Less than 1 year 21.1% 42.1% 36.8% 10.0% 70.0% 20.0%

American VietnameseInformants' length of stay or work

with native people

Amount of expressiveness

Table 4: Amount of expressiveness as seen from informants' length of stay

The table shows the influence of the informants’ length of stay or work with native people

on their perception of the amount of expressiveness. The first thing which can be seen from

the table is that most Vietnamese and American people do not show their disappointment

clearly. Despite staying / working for long or short time, informants claim that the majority

24

of American people choose not to show clear expressions of disappointment (42.1% as

observed by informants living less than 1 year and 90.9% as observed by informants living

more than 1 year). The same thing can be said about the informants’ perception on

Vietnamese amount of expressiveness (70% and 80% respectively).

The table also reveals that there is a significant improvement in the Vietnamese

informants’ perception of American amount of expressiveness. In the eyes of informants

living or working with the American less than 1 year, 36.8% of American people do not

show their disappointment. However, after living or working for longer time, these

informants claim that only 9.1% of American people choose to do the same. In contrast,

the perception of American informants seems to have little alteration, even no change.

3.1.3.2. Cultural knowledge

The cultural knowledge of informants varies much. So for easy and convenient statistics,

informants are divided into 3 groups basing on their understanding of the native culture:

much understanding, not much understanding and no understanding. The statistic figures

are presented in the table below:

Clear expression

Not clear expression

No expression

Clear expression

Not clear expression

No expression

Much understanding 0.0% 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 0.0%Not much understanding 16.7% 58.3% 25.0% 0.0% 77.8% 22.2%No understanding 0.0% 50.0% 50.0% 25.0% 50.0% 25.0%

Informants' knowledge of native culture

Amount of expressivenessAmerican Vietnamese

Table 5: Amount of expressiveness as seen from the informants' cultural knowledge

The table shows the informants’ perception of the amount of expressiveness under the

influence of cultural knowledge. The informants’ perception seems to be proportional to

their cultural knowledge. With limited understanding of native cultures, informants are still

not sure about American amount of expressiveness (with 50% not showing and 50%

showing not clearly) and Vietnamese amount of expressiveness (with 25% showing

clearly, 25% not showing and 50% showing not clearly).

However, when they have gained a good knowledge of the native culture, they all agree

that both American and Vietnamese people do not show their disappointment clearly

(100%).

25

3.1.4. Influential factors on the amount of expressiveness

The components of communication have certain influence on the strategies people use in

communication. Among these components of communication, the participants and

communicating situation are of prominent influence. Therefore, the author wants to find

out if there is a relation between these two components and the way Vietnamese and

American people choose to express their disappointment. The result is presented below.

3.1.4.1. Communicating partners

Free expression

Controlled expression

Free expression

Controlled expression

Boss 23.3% 76.7% 20.0% 80.0%Colleague 53.3% 46.7% 46.7% 53.3%Subordinate 50.0% 50.0% 73.3% 26.7%Client 0.0% 100.0% 6.7% 93.3%Family member 53.3% 46.7% 93.3% 6.7%Close friend 93.3% 6.7% 100.0% 0.0%Stranger 23.3% 76.7% 20.0% 80.0%

VietnameseAmericanAmount of expressiveness

Communicating partners

Table 6: Influence of communicating partners on amount of expressiveness in American

and Vietnamese cultures

This table shows the impact of communicating partners on the amount of expressiveness in

American and Vietnamese cultures. As can be seen, the Americans choose to express their

disappointment in a similar manner with Vietnamese people. When Americans choose free

expressions, Vietnamese people also choose to express their disappointment freely and

vice versa. The highest percentage of people in both cultures choosing “free expression” is

when communicating with their close friends and the lowest one is when communicating

with their clients. However, when they feel safe to express their disappointment freely, the

percentage of Vietnamese people is higher than that of the Americans. Except the case of

clients, when they feel that they have to control their expressions, more Vietnamese people

than American people control it.

Both American and Vietnamese people control their disappointment, when communicating

with bosses. The controlled expression is chosen by 76.7% of American people while this

makes up 80%. The difference between the two groups is not remarkable (3.3%).

26

It is noticeable that when communicating with colleagues, 53.3% of American people

show their disappointment freely while the same number of Vietnamese people choose to

control it.

There is a big difference between American and Vietnamese choice when communicating

with their subordinates. American people seem to be more neutral with 50% choosing “free

expression” and 50% choosing “controlled expression”. Nevertheless, a very high

percentage of Vietnamese people (73.3%) feel that they do not have to control their

expressions of disappointment to a subordinate.

In the case of clients, it is obvious that American and Vietnamese people control the

expressions most of the time. All American people control their expressions whereas

93.3% of Vietnamese people choose to do the same.

In communication with family members, only 53.3% of American people show their

expressions freely while 93.3% choose to do the same. The percentage of American people

controlling their emotion is much higher than that of Vietnamese people (46.7% and 6.7%

respectively).

When communicating with their close friends, all Vietnamese people express their

disappointment freely whereas there are still 6.7% of American people controlling their

emotion.

With the case of communicating with strangers, 80% of Vietnamese people tend to control

their expressions while this percentage in American group makes up 76.7%. There is still

some difference but the gap is not big.

3.1.4.2. Communicating situations

Free expression

Controlled expression

Free expression

Controlled expression

At home 66.7% 33.3% 93.3% 6.7%In public places 26.7% 73.3% 20.0% 80.0%At work 43.3% 56.7% 40.0% 60.0%

Communicating situations

Amount of expressivenessAmerican Vietnamese

Table 7: Influence of communicating situations on amount of expressiveness in American

and Vietnamese cultures

The table shows the amount of expressiveness in American and Vietnamese cultures in

different communicating situations. There are obvious similarities between Vietnamese

27

and American people’s amount of expressiveness in all three surveyed situations. At home,

they choose to express their disappointment most freely. In the other 2 situations, in public

places and at work, they tend to control it.

Comparing the three situations we can see that, more Vietnamese people than American

people (93.3% against 66.7%) choose to express their disappointment at home. In public

places and at work, however, there are 73.3% and 56.7% of American people respectively

choose to control their emotion compared to 80% and 60% in Vietnamese culture.

3.2. DISCUSSIONS OF THE FINDINGS:

Expressions of disappointment:

The data analysis reveals that disappointment seems to be a universal emotion because its

expressions are recognized by most people across cultures. The most commonly-found

expressions imply that when disappointed, both American and Vietnamese people seem to

use more facial expressions than postures and more postures than gestures. It is also found

from the survey that a combination of nonverbal cues (facial expressions, gestures and

postures) makes the expression clearer and seems to indicate higher degrees of

disappointment.

It is obvious from the data analysis that American and Vietnamese people have some

common expressions of disappointment. The most commonly-used expressions for both American and Vietnamese seem to be:

Expression 2 Expression 4 Expression 5 Expression 9 Expression 13

Besides, some expressions are used at very high percentage in this culture whereas it is used at much lower percentage in

28

the other. Expression number 7 is used at a very high percentage in American culture whereas it is commonly found among Vietnamese people.

Expression 8 Expression 12 Expression 16 Expression 7

Amount of expressiveness:

Being a negative emotion, disappointment can possibly cause a bad impression in

communication, or change the communicating partners’ idea about things or people or

even can destroy the relationship. When the cause of disappointment is personal, people try

not to show it out. In the same way, when the cause of disappointment is from the

communicating partners, people also tend to hide their emotional state. Therefore, both

American and Vietnamese people mostly do not nonverbally show it clearly to save both

their face and communicating partner’s face. The Vietnamese seem to try to control their

disappointment more than the Americans. However, when they feel safe to express,

Vietnamese people have more clear expressions than the American.

It is obviously seen from the data analysis that the amount of expressiveness in American

and Vietnamese cultures is much under the influence of communicating partners. In our

consideration, this is because of the effect of different power, social distance, rank of

imposition and other factors.

With boss, client and stranger – communicating partners of higher status and far distance,

people choose to control most of their expression. However, boss is in the same interest

group with the behavior user while clients belong to another interest group and they are

expected to bring benefit to the company and thus to behavior user also. This is the reason

why both American and Vietnamese people try to control their expressions with clients

more than with boss.

In case of colleagues, the small difference between the two figures shows that American

and Vietnamese people tend to be neutral in communication with their colleagues.

29

However, American people seem to be more open to colleagues than Vietnamese people.

With family members and close friend, both American and Vietnamese people choose to

show their disappointment freely. When communicating with close friends, nearly all

people choose to do that because of the intimacy. While much more Vietnamese people

show their disappointment freely than American people in communication with family

members. As American culture values independence, when a family member’s idea,

performance or action does not meet their expectation, they still respect that person’s

choice and thus, do not show their disappointment. Vietnamese people, on the other hand,

tend to do things that make other family members happy, not disappointed.

When communicating with subordinates, while American people are neutral with 50%

people show and 50% people control their emotion, Vietnamese people tend to show their

disappointment more clearly. This seems to be a sample of typical difference between

American and Vietnamese culture. Vietnam is a hierarchical society in which people feel

safer and more culturally acceptable to show their disappointment to their subordinates. In

contrast, America is a society which values equality and informality. Therefore, more

American people choose to control their negative emotional behaviors when

communicating with their subordinates.

With the case of strangers, a communicating partner of the farthest social distance, it is

understandable that most Vietnamese and American people choose to control their

disappointment. This is suitable with the choice of controlling this emotional state in public

places as is discussed later.

Beside the influence of communicating partners, the choice of nonverbal expressions of

disappointment is also under the impact of communicating situations. As the data analysis

shows, most American and Vietnamese people feel safe and suitable to show their

disappointment nonverbally at home whereas they try to control their emotional behavior

in public places and at work. The data analysis also reveals that in the same situations,

Vietnamese tend to control more than American people. However, when both choose to

express, Vietnamese people would express more clearly than the American. This result

reinforces our findings about the amount of expressiveness under the influence of

communicating partners.

30

PART C: CONCLUSION

1. SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS

It is obvious that disappointment is a universal emotion which is internationally

recognized. Both American and Vietnamese people have some common expressions of

disappointment.

It is also found that communicators with longer time spending with people of one culture

or with better cultural knowledge will understand the people of the host culture more,

hence their communication is easier.

The research reveals that American and Vietnamese people would try to control their

negative emotion when communicating with partners of higher status, further social

distance and people from different interest groups. In contrast, with partners of lower

status, closer distance and high level of intimacy, American and Vietnamese people would

show their disappointment more freely.

It is also believed that at home, American and Vietnamese people would choose to show

their disappointment while in public places and at work, they would choose to control it.

This seems to be a norm in both cultures.

2. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CROSS-CULTURAL

COMMUNICATION

From the data analysis, there is obviously a great impact of length of stay or work with

native people on the perception and interpretation of disappointment. Spending more time

staying or working with people of one culture helps people understand that culture and

community, develop their sensitivity, communication skills and achieve more successful

communication. However, it is also found out that not all the people living or working for a

long time with foreigners obtain a good understanding of that foreign culture or on a

contrary, not all people living or working in a short period with foreigners have little

understanding of the foreign culture. The cultural knowledge can only be gained with

passion, wanting-to-know and personal effort.

Additionally, the influence of components of communication on the choice of nonverbal

communication strategy is remarkable. People make a decision to show or not to show and

what level to show their emotional states based on such factors as: power, social distance,

31

rank of imposition, intimacy, group of interest and the communicating situations.

For successful cross-cultural communication, people should focus on improving their

knowledge of the host culture. The more they culturally understand the society, the better

they can understand and communicate with people of that community.

Besides, it will be useful when people try to develop their sensitivity and observational

skills. With these, people can understand behaviors of their communicating partners more,

thus decide to use accurate strategies in communication.

3. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY

Firstly, the number of informants in this research is still modest. Other researches in the

same field should be conducted with a bigger population.

Secondly, the expressions believed to be common in this research are collected from

videos, films and photos only, which may not be all natural expressions in the two cultures.

The author wishes to have chance to conduct another research with hi-tech equipments,

which can help to do collect more authentic data.

32

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: SAMPLE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (FOR AMERICAN

INFORMANTS)

APPENDIX B: SAMPLE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (FOR VIETNAMESE

INFORMANTS)

33

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