Retrodiction: In-group advantages between Europeans and Chinese

Abstract

This study investigated whether the in-group advantage in facial expression recognition extends to the ability to retrodict past events based on others' reactions and explored the influence of cultural familiarity on retrodiction accuracy. Chinese and European participants viewed videos of Chinese and European individuals reacting to four emotionally evocative events (being told a joke, receiving a compliment, listening to a story, or being kept waiting) and were asked to identify the event that caused each reaction. European participants demonstrated higher overall retrodiction accuracy and in-group advantages in specific events, while Chinese participants showed limited in-group advantages and even displayed signs of in-group disadvantages, revealing an asymmetrical pattern of in-group advantages. The relationship between cultural familiarity and retrodiction accuracy is complex and may be influenced by factors such as behavioural accommodation and cultural differences in emotion expression, regulation, and interpretation. The findings highlight the importance of considering cultural factors in emotion communication and social cognition research and underscore the need for developing cross-cultural competence in an increasingly globalized world.