VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL

STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

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 ---

PHẠM THỊ HỒNG NHUNG

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION IN SADNESS

EXPRESSION IN VIETNAM AND ENGLISH -
SPEAKING COUNTRIES

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS (TEFL)

Hanoi, May 2010

 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL
STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

---
 ---

PHẠM THỊ HỒNG NHUNG

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION IN SADNESS

EXPRESSION IN VIETNAM AND ENGLISH -
SPEAKING COUNTRIES

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS (TEFL)

SUPERVISOR: ĐẶNG NGỌC SINH, MA

Hanoi, May 2010

 ACCEPTANCE PAGE
I hereby state that I: PHẠM THỊ HỒNG NHUNG, 061E5, being a
candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the
requirements of the college relating to the retention and use of bachelor’s
graduation paper deposited in the library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited
in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research,
in accordance with the normal conditions established y the librarian for
the care, loan or reproduction of the paper.

Signature

Pham Thi Hong Nhung

Hanoi, May 4th, 2010
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to many people who
have assisted me in the completion of my research.
First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Mr.
Dang Ngoc Sinh for his patient guidance, critical feedback,
encouragement, and constructive supervision throughout my research. I
would also like to express my sincere thanks to Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thanh
Huong, who supported me a lot and gave me valuable advice in the
process of doing research.
I would like to thank Mrs. Dao Thu Trang for her interesting
lectures on cross-cultural communication subject, which provides me
general background knowledge for the research and other teachers in
English Department for their great assistance.
I would like to extend my thanks to all of my friends who have
always encouraged, assisted and give me a large number of useful advices
during my research.
My gratitude goes to all survey respondents in Hanoi who
contributed to the data of this research.
The support extended to me by members of my family has been
immeasurable. I would like to express my sincere thanks to my father, my
mother, and my brother for their support and encouragement throughout
my study.
 ABSTRACT
A large number of studies relating to nonverbal communication and
emotional expression have been carried out over the past years. From the
previous studies that nonverbal cues plays an important role in emotional
expression has been well-acknowledged. Little investigation, however,
has been conducted to focus on nonverbal communication in sadness
expresssion. In order to fill the gap, the researcher is allowed to undertake
the present study. To be more specific, the objective of the study is to find
the similarities and differences in nonverbal sadness expression and to
address factors influencing sadness expression in Vietnamese and
English-speaking countries. In order to fulfill its objectives,
questionnaires were delivered to 50 Vietnamese and 50 Anglicist
including American, British, Australian and Canadian. Results indicated
that despite bearing some similarities in sadness expression via facial
expression, eye, hand gesture, posture, and proxemics between
Vietnamese and Anglophone culture, the differences are noticeable. Such
factors as age, gender, personality, relationship, and social setting exert a
profound effect on nonverbal communication in sadness expression.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

Acknowledgements i
Abstract ii
List of figures, tables, and abbreviations iii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

I. Statement of the problem and the rationale for the 1

study
II. Aims and objectives of the study 2
III. Significance of the study 2
IV. Scope of the study 3
V. Organisation 3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

I. Communication 5
I.1. Definition of communication 5
I.2. Types of communication 5
I.2.1. Nonverbal communication 7
II. Cultural influences on communication 16
III. Cultural influences on nonverbal communication when 17
expressing emotion.
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

I. Selection of subjects 25
II. Data collection instrument 25
III. Procedures of data collection 27
IV. Procedures of data analysis 28

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

I. Similarities and differences in sadness expression via 30

nonverbal cues in Vietnam and English - speaking
countries
II. Factors influencing the frequency of sadness 47
expression via nonverbal cues in Vietnam and English
- speaking countries

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION

I. Summary of findings 52
II. Limitations 54
III. Suggestions for further research 54
IV. Contribution of the research 55

REFERENCES 56
APPENDICES
 LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, AND ABBREVIATIONS
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Comparison between verbal and nonverbal communication
Table 2: Classification of nonverbal communication
Table 3: Frequency of using nonverbal communication
Table 4: Eye expression in percentage
Table 5: Level of sadness (eye)
Table 6: Level of sadness (eyebrow)
Table 7: Level of sadness (hand gesture)
Table 8: Level of sadness (posture)
Table 9: Proxemics expression in number
Table 10: Proxemics expression in percentage
Table 11: The influence of age (in percentage)
Table 12: The influence of gender (in percentage)
Table 13: The influence of personality (in percentage)
Table 14: The influence of relationship (in percentage)
Table 15: The influence of social setting (in percentage)
LIST OF CHARTS
Chart 1: Three elements of communication
Chart 2: Proxemics (Conversational distance)
Chart 3: Eye expression in number
Chart 4: Eyebrow expression in number
Chart 5: Eyebrow expression in percentage
Chart 6: Lip expression in number
Chart 7: Lip expression in percentage
Chart 8: Hand gesture expression in number
Chart 9: Hand gesture expression in percentage
Chart 10: Posture expression in number
Chart 11: Posture expression in percentage
Chart 12: The influence of personality (in percentage)
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
I. Statement of the problem and the rationale for the study

C
ommunication among people plays an integral part
of everyday life. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary (7th ed.) defines communication as the
activity or process of expressing ideas and feelings
or of giving people information. It has been stated that most of us
spend about 75 % of our waking hours communicating our
knowledge, thoughts, and ideas to others (quoted in Do & Dao, 2006,
p. 70). Nguyen (2001) divides the process of communication into two:
verbal and nonverbal communication. Formerly, verbal and written
language received more attention than non-verbal cues. What is sent
by communication other than words has been thoroughly studied since
the 1960s. That is nonverbal communication, or body language
including the full range of gestures, facial expressions, eye contact,
and conversational distance (Levine and Adelman, 1993). Although
we do not always realize that we are sending and receiving messages
nonverbally, the influence of nonverbal communication is always
present in face-to-face communication. It is also estimated that
nonverbal behaviors account for 65% to 93% of the total meaning of
communication (Birdwhistell, 1970; Hickson & Stacks, 1985;
Mehrabian, 1981). Compared to verbal behaviors, nonverbal
communication is considered to be a less conscious process. As a
result, Martin & Nagayama (2004) propose that nonverbal behaviors
convey ‘real’ messages.
These days, cooperation among countries has offered more
opportunities for cross-cultural communication. The differences in
nonverbal cues, however, may exist between cultures are highly
 likely to cause miscommunication or even culture shock for
interlocutors. Individual differences in the expression of emotion are
also important components for nonverbal communication.
All the things concerned above have offered the researcher an
opportunity to conduct a study on ‘NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION IN SADNESS EXPRESSION IN VIETNAM
AND ENGLISH - SPEAKING COUNTRIES.’
II. Aims and objectives of the study
Regarding the aforementioned research gaps, the present
study is undertaken as an attempt to find out the similarities and
differences in expressing sadness through nonverbal cues in
Vietnamese and Anglophone cultures. Next, the researcher would
like to discover factors affecting nonverbal communication in
sadness expression in two cultures.
In short, the principal aims of the study could be summarized
into two research questions as follows:
1. What are similarities and differences in sadness
expression via nonverbal cues in Vietnam and English - speaking
countries?
2. What are related factors influencing sadness
expression via nonverbal cues in Vietnam and English-speaking
countries?
III. Significance of the study
Once having been completed, the study would serve as one of
the cross-cultural studies on nonverbal communication in general.
This paper might be a useful source for teachers & students who are
interested in the topic.
In addition to academic significance, the findings from the
research would probably contribute to the effectiveness of nonverbal
 communication in the real life, especially in cross-cultural
environment.
IV. Scope of the study
Nonverbal communication in sadness expression in these two
different cultures takes a lot of time and effort to do research; as a
result, it is hard for the researcher to cover all aspects of these issues.
Due to time constraint, resources, the researcher’s knowledge and
experience, the primary focus will inevitably be on facial expression,
eyes, hand gestures, postures, and proxemics. The researcher could not
also deliver the questionnaire for people from all English – speaking
countries, therefore, all the participants come from the UK, the US,
Australia and Canada. Additionally, there is a great wealth of factors
which could affect ways of sad expression in these two cultures;
accordingly, the researcher will just cover five following related
factors: age, gender, personality, relationship, and social settings.
V. Organisation
The rest of the paper is organized as follows:
CHAPTER 2 (LITERATURE REVIEW) provides the
readers with theoretical background related to communication in
general, nonverbal communication and sadness expression with a view
to understanding the present research. It also highlights the main
issues and controversies around the problem. An overview of related
studies could also be found in this chapter.
CHAPTER 3 (METHODOLOGY) outlines the research
methods used and demonstrate that recognized procedures have been
followed in the study. In particular, this chapter describes and justifies
the procedures employed to select the participants and instruments for
the research as well as specific steps taken to collect data. The
explanation of how the data will be analyzed to address the research
questions would be included.
CHAPTER 4 (RESULTS AND DISCUSSION) states the
results collected from the instruments, and then the interpretation
would be presented. Throughout the chapter, tables, charts and other
suitable graphic materials would be added to illustrate.
CHAPTER 5 (CONCLUSION) contains the summary of the
main findings of the study, the brief limitations of the research and
some suggestions for further studies.
In addition, appendices including survey questionnaires for
English and Vietnamese participants should be attached at the end of
the study.
 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
I. Communication
1. Definition of communication
Perhaps, communication might well be considered to be one of
people’s most basic activities in daily life. We ourselves probably rarely
stopped to think what “communication” is really about or what we should
mean by “communication.”
Until now, there have been quite a few scholars who have proposed
their own definition of communication. Among them, Milton defined
“communication” in his book “Human behavior in organizations: three
levels of behavior” (1981) as basically “the process of transmitting
information between two or more persons.” Berko, Rosenfeld & Samovar
(1997, p.6), however, note that “communication is more than just sending
and receiving messages.” It is added that the process of communication
needs “a channel” including “six elements: senders, receivers, messages,
a context, a purpose, and feedback”. Additionally, Brooks & Heath, co-
authors of the book “Speech communication (6th ed.)” released in 1989
claim that communication also means the transmission of meanings and
feelings through the exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages. Levine
& Adelman (1993) appear to show their agreement with the two above-
mentioned definitions but they used brief words to define it. Their
concept of communication is “the process of sharing meaning through
verbal and nonverbal behavior” should be generally accepted throughout
the research.
2. Types of communication
To take a closer look at the web of expressions that people commit
every day, it should be noted that the existent types of communication in
the world these days should be understood. 1The reason for this is that the
awareness of the types of communication could open the person’s mind
in comprehending the things happening in daily life. If a person knows
only verbal communication but nonverbal communication, then he could
be “an alien” in the realm of “emotional communication,” for example.
Knowing the types of communication, therefore, is of vital importance in
daily communication.
2
There is a consensus between Uttara Manohar (2008) and an
online expert team of writers in terms of types of communication. There
are two main types of communication in their point of view. Based on
style and purpose of communication, there can be two broad categories of
communication, which are formal communication and informal
communication. Both of them have their own set of characteristic
features.
Formal communication occurs in a set formal format such as at
work, at meetings or all sorts of business communication. The style of
communication in this form is very formal and official as its name; as a
result, formal communication should be “straightforward, official, and
always precise.”
On the other hand, informal communication is just only the way we
talk to each other daily. Informal means “relaxed” and “casual” so that
this form of communication often takes place between friends and family
members. That is the reason why unlike formal form, this one “does not
have any rigid rules and guidelines” (Manohar, 2008).

1
http://typesof-communication.com/
2
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/types-of-communication.html

http://www.communication-type.com/
 As regards to the base of communication channels, communication
is divided into two other subcategories: verbal and nonverbal
communication. As stated in two online articles: “Types of
communication” by Manohar and “Communication” which are
mentioned above, verbal communication consists of “written and oral
communication.” Written communication could use snail mail or email as
two means of communication. An effective writing depends on its style,
the use of language, grammar, clarity, and precision of language. The
other type, oral communication refers to the “spoken words in the
communication process.” Meanwhile, Manohar (2008) defines nonverbal
communication as the overall body language of the person who is
speaking, which will include the body posture, the hand gestures, and
overall body movements.
The focus of the research is only nonverbal communication, thus,
this type of communication will be discussed in detail in the following
separate part.
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Definition of nonverbal communication
There are scores of definitions that researchers and scholars
use to define non-verbal communication.
In the broadest sense, according to Knapp and Hall (2006, p.
23), the term ‘nonverbal communication’ is commonly used to
describe “all human communication events that transcend spoken
interpreted words.” Specifically, nonverbal communication
behaviors are those bodily actions and vocal qualities that typically
accompany a verbal message. Levine and Adelman (1993) also
define nonverbal communication as “the ‘silent’ language,
including the use of gestures, facial expressions, eye-contact, and
conversational distance.” This definition probably focuses on
 kinesics – we often call it body language and just mention a small
part of environmental language.
To put it in a simple way, nonverbal communication is
everything that is communicated beyond what is expressed in
words.
Differences between verbal and nonverbal communication
Verbal and nonverbal communication is said to be two
communication systems which constitute different languages and
operate according to different laws. When we communicate person
in person, we send not only “discrete, digital, verbal symbols” but
also “continuous, analogical, nonverbal cues” at the same time
(Brooks & Heath, 1989). However, defining the difference between
verbal and nonverbal communication remains an area of
disagreement among experts. Regardless of this ongoing issue,
still, there are some unique characteristics to distinguish two kinds
of communication.
In terms of neurology, neurologists points out that the human
nervous neural handles these two kinds of cues differently. In
particular, they travel over different neural pathways in the brain.
Nonverbal cues moves in he older parts of the brain that develop in
the early years before digital information like words and numbers
are learned. Meanwhile, the pathways of the other lie in the portion
which develops late in the child.
The speed of reception of nonverbal cues is also different
from that of verbal ones. Analogical messages are received rapidly
while digital messages reach us more slowly. Hence nonverbal
messages are likely to be perceived and reacted to before the
perception of verbal ones.
 There are other differences between verbal and nonverbal
behaviours than those of perception. Brooks and Heath (1989)
suggest that “words can and do represent abstractions such as love
and hate”; however, “nonverbal messages observed in one’s
behaviour are more likely to be directly related to the feeling of the
moment.” Moreover, as they propose, most verbal messages are
produced “intentionally” because of one’s will whereas nonverbal
cues are not easily controlled.
The table below by the William Alanson White Psychiatric
Foundation, Inc. quoted by Brooks & Heath (1989, p. 94) could
possibly make the comparison between verbal and nonverbal
communication clearer and easier to understand to readers.
Table 1:
Comparison between verbal and nonverbal communication
Nonverbal communication Verbal communication
1 Nonverbal communication is Verbal communication is
based on continuous based on discontinuous
functions; the hand is functions; sounds or letters
continuously involved in have a discrete beginning
movement. and ending.
2 Nonverbal communication is Verbal communication is
regulated primarily by governed primarily by
principles governed arbitrary, manmade
biological necessity. principles.
3 Nonverbal communication Verbal communication
influences perception, influences thinking and leads
coordination, and to the acquisition of
integration, and leads to the information.
 acquisition of skills.
4 Understanding of nonverbal Understanding of verbal
denotation is based upon the denotation is based on prior
participants’ emphatic verbal agreement.
assessment of biological
similarity; no explanation is
needed for understanding
what pain is.
5 Nonverbal communication Verbal communication uses
uses the old structures of the younger brain structures,
central and autonomic particularly the cortex.
nervous systems.
6 Nonverbal communication is Verbal communication is
learned early in life. learned later in life.
7 Action and objects exist in Words do not exist in their
their own right. own right. They are arbitrary
symbols representing
abstractions or events.
8 Nonverbal communication is Verbal communication is
emotional to a great extent. intellectual to a greater
extent.
9 Nonverbal communication Verbal communication
represents an intimate represents a distant
language. language.

Principles of nonverbal communication

From those differences between verbal and nonverbal
communication above, three axioms or principles of nonverbal
communication could be suggested by Brooks & Heath in their
book “Speech communication” published in 1989.
In their opinion, the fist principle is “one cannot not
communicate.” All behaviours which can be observed or visible
can bring “message value.” Brooks & Heath propose that if we do
not want to communicate, we can refuse to speak. That means
verbal communication can be avoided; we, however, cannot avoid
communicating nonverbally. Inactivity or silence itself, for
example, has its own meaning.
Secondly, feelings and emotions, attitudes and relationships
are effectively communicated through nonverbal behaviors. People
usually use verbal communication – words to share cognitive
information and to transmit knowledge, meanwhile nonverbal cues
are best for conveying feelings, emotions and attitudes – non-
cognitive information. Watzlawick, Beavin, Jackson (1967, p.63)
add that when relationship is the central concern of communication
(superior-subordinate, leader-follower, helper-helped...), verbal
language is almost meaningless. Brooks & Heath (1989) explain
more as follows:
In courtship, love, or combat, nonverbal communication is
the effective mode. One can, of course, verbally profess love
or trust, but these are most meaningfully communicated
through the nonverbal codes. The verbal channel has a high
potential for carrying semantic information, while the
nonverbal channel has high potential for carrying affective
information. The emotional side of the message is very often
expressed by the nonverbal elements. When we express a
liking or disliking for a person, we often express it, not only
through what we way, but through how we say it. (p. 95-96)
 Berko, Rosenfeld & Samovar (1997) also show their
agreement with Brooks & Heath when claiming that emotions and
feelings are more accurately and easily communicated through
nonverbal cues. The possible reason may stem from the fact that
most nonverbal ones are innate and unconscious.
Last but not least, “involuntary nonverbal messages are often
of high validity” (Brooks & Heath, 1989). It implies that when
verbal and nonverbal communication conflict, the nonverbal
messages are characteristically the more accurate reflection of
feelings and tend to be more believed. As mentioned above, verbal
communication can be manipulated; someone is intent on choosing
words with care. Meanwhile, as Berko, Rosenfeld, & Samovar
(1997) said, “nonverbal behaviors are often below the level of
awareness and are not easily controlled” consciously; as a result, it
could be hard to distort or deceive nonverbal messages. That is the
reason why nonverbal messages are often regarded as the more
accurate indicator of feelings and emotions.
Importance of nonverbal communication
Nonverbal communication plays an important role in our
communication and relationships with others. Those identifiable
characteristics highlight its usefulness. In communicating, we tend
to emphasize the spoken word or verbal communication, yet much
of the meaning of a message – 65% or more – is actually conveyed
by our nonverbal behaviors (Birdwhistell, 1970). To a great extent,
communication researcher Mehrabian (1981) shows his agreement
with Birdwhistell when he comes to a conclusion from his findings
that three elements of any face-to-face communication account
differently for the total meaning of the message: nonverbal
 behavior account for 55 %, tone of voice 38 % and words just 7 %.
These percents are shown in the chart below:

Chart 1:
Three elements of communication

Consequently, nonverbal behavior is an important part of

helping because of the large amount of information it
communicates.
Classification of nonverbal communication
Some forms of non-verbal signals are the same and universal
and they have the same meaning or interpretation. The other forms,
nonetheless, are different and have different meaning too or no
meaning in the other culture. Craig Storti in “Figuring Out” as
quoted by Wienchecki (1999) mentions three main categories of
non-verbal communication in the cross-cultural context. These are:

a. Non-verbal behaviours which exist in your own culture

and in the target culture which have the same meaning in both
cultures.
b. Non-verbal behaviours which exist in both cultures, but
which are assigned different meanings in the two cultures.
 c. Non-verbal behaviours which have meaning in one culture
but no meaning at all in the target language.
In my view, this classification might be too general. Nguyen
(2006) provides a detailed chart quoted by Do & Dao (2006, p.9) to
put nonverbal communication into two following broad categories:
Table 2:
Classification of nonverbal communication
Extralanguage
Body Object
Paralanguage Environmental
language language
language
(Kinesics) (Artifacts)
+ Vocal + Eye contact + Clothing + Setting
characteristics + Facial + Jewellery +
* pitch expressions + Make-up Conversational
* volume + Gestures + Artificial distance /
* rate + Postures scents Proxemics
* vocal quality + Touch / + Flowers + Time /
* types of vocal Haptics / + Gifts Chronemics
flow Tactile + ... + Lighting
+ Vocal + ... system
interferences + Colour
+ Silence + Heat
+ ... + ...
3. Levels of communication
Communication could be categorized in many ways. The
researcher will provide one way which is proposed in the book “Speech
communication” by Brooks & Heath (1989). Those terms are
intrapersonal, interpersonal, public, organizational, and cultural.
 + Intrapersonal communication: Intrapersonal communication is
the communication that takes place within an individual. It is mostly
“neurophysiological activity.” In this level, an individual talks to himself
and handles events, ideas, and experiences.
+ Interpersonal communication: Interpersonal communication
“refers to persons engaged directly in overt and covert transmission and
reception of messages.” Interpersonal communication consists of dyadic
communication and small group communication. In dyadic
communication, two people communicate directly with each other. The
small group may have three people or more participating in the process of
communication. The number of participants is the only difference
between dyadic and small group communication. These two kinds need
an essential element of direct, person-to-person interaction.
+ Public communication: Public communication is the process of
sending a message to a public. In public communication, the speaker does
most, not all of the speaking and the public has the role of receivers and
responders. Public communication has two kinds: speaker – audience
communication and mass communication through mass media such as
television, radio, motion pictures, newspapers, magazines, books, and
billboards.
+ Organizational communication: “Organizational communication
includes all three levels previously identified – intrapersonal,
interpersonal, and public, but the distinguishing characteristic is that he
communication is from an organization.”
+ Cultural communication: Cultural communication includes
organization in a particular culture as well as its individual
communicators. Each culture has its own identifiable communication
system. When people interact with others from different cultures,
intercultural or cross-cultural communication takes place. Intercultural
communication is a communication between people who live in the same
country but come from different cultural backgrounds. Different from
intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication is between
people who live in different countries and come from different cultural
backgrounds. Therefore, cross-cultural communication does study not
only “cultural differences” but also the “similarities” and “their
influences on the people’s behaviours” (Do & Dao, 2006, p. 8).
II. Cultural influences on communication
Culture is not something we can reach out and touch, nor see or
hear: it is something we must infer from the behaviour of others (Rohner,
1984). Some forty years ago, Kroeber & Kluckhorn (1952) assembled
more than 156 definitions of culture, and a wide number of definitions
persist, much to the frustration of some, who have concluded that to
search for an adequate definition of culture is fruitless (Segall, 1984).
Looking across the definitions, it is clear that at least one part of culture is
the learned meanings that are shared by a group (Rohner, 1984). In my
work I define culture simply as a shared system of socially transmitted
behaviour that describes, defines, and guides people’s ways of life.
Culture influences all aspects of our lives including people’s
communication. It involves subjective – attitudes, values, beliefs,
opinions, behaviours – and objective – clothes, food, utensils, architecture
– elements (Triandis, 1972). As Nguyen (1998) said, although everyone
has a unique style of communication, cultures determine a general style
for their members. We are not, however, aware of the “subtle influences
of our culture’. We may also not perceive that others are also influenced
by their cultures. The culture can have a profound effect on how to
communicate with each other, how to interpret physical surroundings,
and how to form social relationships. Berko, Rosenfeld & Samovar
(1997) also appreciated the impact of culture in their book:
 Culture mandates who talks to whom about what and for how long.
You were not born knowing a language, how to select “in”
clothing, how to spend your time, or the most appropriate ways to
show respect. Your culture presented you with a blueprint for how
you should live your life and how you should communicate about
it. (p. 11)
Culture is communicated across generations. And, culture both
enables behaviour, allowing it to be created or invented and it constrains
and restricts it (Adamopoulous & Lonner, 2001). Thus, understanding our
culture and the diversity of cultures with which we come into contact
provides a basis for deriving meaning from our communication
interactions.
III. Cultural influences on nonverbal communication when
expressing emotion.
As with verbal language, culture influences nonverbal behaviours
in a profound way.
Vietnamese and Anglicist cultures are two target cultures in this
paper. Actually, two cultures have an impact on people’s way of
communicating nonverbally. In the words of Hofstede (1980),
Vietnamese culture can be described as high power distance, high
collectivism, moderate uncertainty avoidance, and high context.
Anthropologist Edward T. Hall (1976) also classifies Vietnamese culture
as high-context culture. Vietnamese people are also highly attuned to
non-verbal communications and derive meaning from the speaker's facial
expressions and body language. Furthermore, Gudykusnt (2003)
identifies high-context communication to be indirect, ambiguous,
maintaining of harmony, reserved and understated. In contrast, Anglicist
culture is considered a low-context culture. The person from the low-
context culture places a much higher value on the words spoken than on
the non-verbal aspect of communications. In low-context cultures,
information and meanings are explicitly stated in the message or
communication (Hall, 1976). Low-context cultures tend to be more
heterogeneous and individualist and accordingly have evolved a more
direct communication style. Therefore, those differences between two
cultures do determine differences in nonverbal communication.
There is a variety of sources or channels for the nonverbal cues in
emotional expression that we can interpret from others and display
ourselves. This present study only includes five basic channels: facial
expression, eye contact, hand gesture, posture and proxemics.
Facial expression is the most important source of nonverbal
communication in all cultures. Gamble & Gamble (2001) stress the
importance of the face in their book “Communication works” that the
face is the “single most important broadcaster of emotions and the most
powerful of our non-verbal communication instruments.” To strengthen
the argument, Berko, Rosenfeld & Samovar (1997) present the reason
why the face is so important. From their point of view, the face is our
main channel for communicating our own emotions and for analyzing
those of others. Actually, the face is considered a major source of
expression when communicating with others.
By far the largest research literature on this topic is related to facial
expressions of emotion. Over a century ago, debate raged concerning
whether facial expressions of emotion were universal to all peoples from
all cultures or culture specific. The question finds the roots in the work of
Darwin. Darwin’s thesis, summarized in The Expression of Emotion in
Man and Animals (Darwin, 1872), suggested that emotions and their
expressions had evolved across species, were evolutionarily adaptive,
biologically innate, and universal across all human. According to Darwin,
all humans, regardless of race or culture, possessed the ability to express
emotions in exactly the same ways, primarily through their faces.
Matsumoto (2006) found that it was not until the mid 1960s when the
psychologist Sylvan Tomkins, a pioneer in modern studies of human
emotion, joined forces independently with Paul Ekman and Carroll Izard
to conduct the first of what has become known today as the universality
studies. Their findings demonstrated the existence of six universal
expressions – anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise – as
judges all around the world agreed on what emotions was portrayed in the
faces. Here are illustrations of faces:

(http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/ytw/www/facial.html)
The manifestation of sadness is narrowing eyes with the eyebrows
brought together, mouth turned down at the corners with the chin pulled
up. Nevertheless, from Friesen’s study (1972), despite the existence of
universal facial expressions of emotion, people around the world do
express emotions differently, especially negative emotions such as
sadness. For instance, in some Eastern cultures, people have been
socialized to conceal their negative emotion to maintain social harmony,
whereas members of high-context cultures are freer to show their
emotion. As a result, sometimes it can be hard to interpret the meaning
through facial cues and to distinguish which expression the person is
trying to convey.
The second nonverbal cue is eye contact which is how and how
much we look at others when we are communicating. The eyes are often
the first piece of body language others see or notice. Thus, beside facial
expression, eye contact is also another essential source for emotional
display or interpretation. Facial cues can communicate the emotion you
are experiencing, but eyes can indicate its intensity. For example, your
face may communicate sadness, but the intensity of that expression
comes from your eyes. In relationships, eye contact is also served to show
intimacy, attention, and influence. The eyes have much to tell us;
nevertheless, Brooks & Heath (1989) emphasizes that the relationship
between culture and eye contact is unavoidable. A majority of people in
the United States and other Anglicist cultures expect those with whom
they are communicating to “look them in the eye.” Direct eye contact,
however, is not a custom throughout the world. In a high-context culture
like Vietnamese culture, prolonged eye contact is considered rude,
disrespectful, and threatening.
 http://zindy-zone.dk/html/drawings/coal/sad.htm
Another cue which should be discussed is gesture. Gestures are
movements made by a specific part of our body, namely hands, arms, and
fingers. Of all parts of the human body, Axtell (1997) claims that the
hands may be mostly used to send nonverbal signals. That is the reason
why the hands are regarded as a ‘powerful communicator”. In his
opinion, gesture and body language communicate as effectively as words,
even more effectively. As stated by Gamble & Gamble (2001), gestures
are emotion of your limbs or body that you use to express or accentuate
your moods and ideas, and that they are culturally related. For instance,
we drum our fingers to indicate impatience or sadness, or hit a table to
emphasize that we really are angry. Whereas one gesture may be common
in a particular culture and have a clear interpretation, it may be
meaningless in another culture or even have a completely opposite
meaning. It should also be noted that such countries like Vietnam use few
gestures than some countries like the US (Axtell, 1997).
 http://todaysseniorsnetwork.com/Depression_Leads_to_Artery_Thickeni
ng.htm

Concerning postures, they are specific positioning that the body

takes during a timeframe. Postures are commonly acknowledged to be a
means to express feelings and emotions. Baguley (1994) shows his
agreement by saying “Posture is movements that involve the whole body,
that people adopt revealing their attitudes, thoughts and feelings” (cited in
Beck, 2007). The emotions and the body position are closely related to
each other. The way we carry ourselves can affect the way we feel and
the way others perceive us just as much as the way we feel can affect the
way we carry ourselves (Brook & Heath, p. 144). In other words, through
the way we sit or stand, to a large extent, people can assess our thoughts
and feelings at that time.
http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-sad-women-image10503734
In terms of proxemics, in his research “Realistic simulation of
emotion by animated characters,” Beck (2007) simply defines proxemics
as the distance between persons during a social interaction. It might be
called conversational distance. Hall (1976), the author of “The Silent
Language” and “Beyond Culture” specified four different levels of
conversational distance depending on social relationship type: intimate,
personal, social, and public. For example, people often feel more
comfortable standing closer and expressing emotions to family members
than to strangers. In the case of proxemics, one’s use of space is closely
associated with culture (Samovar, Porter, & McDaniel, 2007). Cultures
that stress individualism generally demand more space than do
collectivist cultures and will defend space more closely.
 Chart 2: Proxemics (Conversational distance)
(http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/proxemics)
It can be seen that though a large number of studies relating to
nonverbal communication has been conducted so far, there have still been
a gap to fill in. Almost all studies investigated emotion expression in
general with a little comparison between two specific cultures. Some
researches on anger or happiness expression have also been done by
students at English Department, ULIS, VNU; the study of sadness
expression, however, has not. Such limitations offer the researcher a
chance to conduct the present study regarding nonverbal communication
in sadness expression in two different cultures: Vietnamese and Anglicist.
 CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
I. Selection of subjects
The researcher uses probability sampling to select the sample
for the study because probability samples allow the researcher to
make inferences about the whole population. 100 participants are
divided into two groups: 50 Vietnamese and 50 foreigners who are
British, American, Australian, and Canadian. Each group has an
equal number of males and females. In order to ensure the study’s
reliability and validity, except the variable above, all the participants
will be randomly chosen at different ages. Because the
questionnaires will be delivered mostly in Hanoi, the researcher will
come to English centers to collect data from Vietnamese informants.
Most of the Vietnamese here are enthusiastic and supportive enough
to fulfill the questionnaire.
II. Research instrument
Survey questionnaire will be employed to address the research
questions. With its unprecedented efficiency in terms of researcher
time, effort, and financial resources, a survey questionnaire seems to
be one of the most attractive means of collecting data (Nguyen,
Pham & Luong, 2008, p. 17). A survey which takes the participants
only a few minutes to check off, select or answer short questions can
provide needed, in-depth information for the researcher. By
delivering the questionnaire, the researcher could collect a wealth of
information from target population within a short period of time. It
is, in other words, the quickest way to collect answers from scattered
participants with much precision and clarity since the needed
information was elicited by controlled questions (Jo and Steve, 1997
quoted in Nguyen, Pham & Luong, 2008). As the survey
questionnaire can bring the researcher a lot of advantages, it will be
utilized as the major source of data collection to gather statistic data.
As a wide range of questions are asked about the given issue,
diversified information relating to the research topic will be gained.
As regards to the design of the survey questionnaire, closed-
ended questions are chosen because responses are easier to collect
and analyze. Most items are put in multiple-choice questions. In
order to gain responses which more accurately reflect what the
respondents wants to say, almost all questions provide a choice for
them to specify. A set of survey questionnaire contains two main
parts. The first part including age, gender, nationality, occupation,
characteristics will provide the researcher the background
information about a participant. The researcher will mostly base on
the information from this part to address the second question. The
main part in the survey questionnaire is nonverbal communication in
sadness expression. In case the participants are not familiar with the
term “Nonverbal communication,” the researcher also adds its
definition to the survey questionnaire in the hope that the
participants might find it easier to fill in the questionnaire. There are
7 questions in this part. The first two questions are asked about the
frequency of using nonverbal communication and expressing
sadness with each type of communicator. The third question is about
the place in which the participants are more likely to express their
sadness via nonverbal cues. From the last four questions, the
researcher can find the specific information about the way which the
participants mostly use to show the sadness through facial
expression, eyes, hand gestures, postures, and proxemics as well as
to corresponding level of sadness for their choices. In order to save
time for the participants to fulfill the questionnaire, choices in these
 questions are illustrated with images. This type of information will
be used to compare and contrast the two cultures.
The survey questionnaire will be written in two languages:
English and Vietnamese. English version is for Anglicist people and
the researcher will translate it into Vietnamese for Vietnamese
respondents so that possible misunderstandings leading to the
inaccuracy of the outcomes could be avoided first.
III. Procedures of data collection
The procedure of data collection goes through 4 following stages:
Stage 1: Preparing
A list of questions in survey and the interview content will be
prepared with much attention to anonymity to reach the target. The
researcher made a start to write effective items avoiding ambiguous,
repetitive, and redundant items.
Stage 2: Piloting
Before formulating the final draft, the researcher will invite a
supervisor to locate the problematic items, to see whether it is hard
to understand, whether it is ambiguous or redundant, which is
believed to improve the content and layout of questionnaire.
Stage 3: Delivering the questionnaire
The study will be conducted around the Old Quarters in Hanoi,
particularly Sword Lake because many host and foreign tourists pay
a visit to this place everyday. The researcher and the researcher’s
friends will go there, explain the purpose, the research topic and ask
them for their permission to complete the questionnaire. After
ensuring that the informants fully understand the questions, the
researcher will distribute the question. In the process of fulfilling
the questionnaire, if there are any further questions, the researcher is
willing to offer clearer instructions. In addition, the anonymity of
 the questionnaire will be guaranteed in order that the respondents
will be more willing to choose their answers reflecting their
reaction. In order to get enough questionnaires back for the study,
the researcher also asks friends for help to send the survey
questionnaire to their friends or acquaintances in four countries via
email.
Stage 4: Synthesizing figures
After collecting the data from the questionnaires, the results
will quickly be synthesized to search for any unexpected outcomes.
Then the data collection procedure will continue with transcribing
the records and combining with data analysis procedure. As the data
from interviews can come in a large amount, the transcripts will be
summarized with detailed notes regarding time and place of the
interview. In order to avoid misinterpreting, the interviews’ words
will be kept and all the irrelevant information will be eliminated.
IV. Procedures of data analysis
Descriptive statistics is used to analyze quantitative and
qualitative data. Quantitative data will be quantified, calculated,
and synthesized from the data in closed-ended questions into bar
charts and tables. The analysis of numerical data aiming at
identifying statistical relations of variables are hard data on the
numbers and the percentage of participants sharing the same ideas
or rating. This type of data will be analysed more accurately and
objectively.
Qualitative data allows the researcher to gain insight into the
respondents’ reactions mainly from open-ended questions. Same
ideas will be grouped into different types of validity together to be
compared.
 CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
I. SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN SADNESS
EXPRESSION VIA NONVERBAL CUES IN VIETNAM AND
ENGLISH - SPEAKING COUNTRIES
1. Frequency of using nonverbal communication in sadness
expression

Respondents Anglicist Vietnamese

Frequency (%) (%)

a. always 12 14
b. usually 32 34
c. sometimes 48 38
d. rarely 8 14
e. never 0 0
Table 3:
Frequency of using nonverbal communication

The table above shows the information about how often

Vietnamese and Anglicist respondents express their sadness through
nonverbal communication. ‘Sometimes’ is the most preferable choice of
48% of the Anglicist respondents and 38% of the Vietnamese ones. Some
of the Anglicist and Vietnamese respondents even always show the
sadness nonverbally (12% and 14% respectively). Despite bearing some
noticeable similarities, it is clear from the table that more Vietnamese
respondents (14%) rarely express their sadness via nonverbal cues than
Anglicist ones (8%). This finding support Hall’s suggestion in 1976. In
his book “Beyond Culture,” Hall claims that Vietnam belongs to a high-
context society which tends to be homogenous and collectivist meanwhile
Anglicist countries are considered a low-context culture which favors
more heterogeneous and individualist. As stated in Journal of Cross-
Cultural Psychology (1996), “people in collectivistic cultures would feel
less comfortable expressing negative emotions than people in
individualistic cultures.” The data collected for the present study supports
that claim. To be specific, fewer Anglicist participants claimed to rarely
show their sadness nonverbally than the other did. That means
Vietnamese people are likely to suppress their emotional displays in order
to maintain group harmony.
2. Sadness expression through eyes

Table 4:
Eye expression in percentage
Respondents A V
Eye expression (%) (%)
a. eyes cast down 36 48
b. narrowed eyes 24 34
c. closed eyes 4 6
d. damp or tearful eyes 28 10
e. no changes 8 0
f. others 0 2
 As illustrated by table 4, casting down the eyes to show the
sadness is chosen by the largest number of participants coming
from both Anglicist and Vietnamese cultures. Nearly half of the
Vietnamese participants (48%) cast down their eyes when they are
sad. Although the number of the Anglicist participants who express
their sadness in the same way is smaller than that of the
Vietnamese ones, this figure is still the greatest (18 out of 50
accounts for 36%). Ranking the second position is narrowed eyes
which makes up 34% of Vietnamese respondents. Meanwhile,
regarding Anglicist respondents, damp or tearful eyes with 28%
ranks second, and it is followed by narrowed eyes at 24%.
While some similarities between Anglicist and Vietnamese
cultues in sadness expression through the eyes are noticeable, they
still bear some minor differences. The number of the Anglicist
participants who choose “closed eyes” is the smallest with just only
4% of the total respondents, whereas the lowest percentage belongs
to 2% of Vietnamese participants who wants to hide their sadness
by smiling instead. Perhaps they do not want their negative feeling
to affect other people around them in order to maintain social
harmony.
Many researchers demonstrated that sadness was one of six
universal expressions and narrowing eyes is employed to show
sadness. From the finding, however, beside narrowing eyes, there
is another way as the display of emotion which is more preferable
than that. That is casting down the eyes. If the eyes are closed or
damp or tearful, this is also considered to be the manifestation of
sadness. In the country where respect for hierarchy is as high as
Vietnam, casting down the eyes when sad is quite natural.
Nevertheless, Anglicist participants who belong to a low-context
 culture also choose to avoid eye contacts. In this case, avoidance of
eye contact can be interpreted as hiding their negative emotion.
The following table gives more detailed information about
the level of sadness.
Table 5:
Level of sadness
Anglicist Vietnamese
No. % No. %
a1 2 11 a1 3 13
a2 10 56 a2 18 75
a3 6 33 a3 3 13
b1 2 17 b1 5 29
b2 6 50 b2 6 35
b3 4 33 b3 6 35
c1 2 c2 1 33
c3 2 67
d1 10 71 d1 3 60
d2 4 29 d2 2 40
e3 4
From the table, it is clear that casting down the eyes is
mostly used to show their emotion in both two cultures when they
are sad at an average level. In case they are deeply sad, the eyes
tend to be damp or tearful among Anglicist people. If Vietnamese
people narrow down the eyes, it could be inferred that they are
rather sad. This finding strenthens the idea stated in the precious
chapter that the intensity of emotion expression comes from the
eyes.

3. Sadness expression through eyebrows

 Chart 5:
Eyebrow expression in percentage

It is clear from the two charts that by far the greatest proportion is
pulling eyebrows together, which accounts for 52% of the total Anglicist
participants. This number is nearly double the proportion collected from
Vietnamese respondents (28%). In Vietnamese culture, it is most likely
that there are no eyebrow changes at all when people show their sadness
as 19 per 50 Vietnamese respondents pick up this choice. In comparison,
just only 16% of Anglicist ones, which is the smallest percentage, choose
this. Pulling down the eyebrows also receives high responses from
participants in Anglicist and Vietnamese culture (32% and 34%
respectively).
Table 6:
Level of sadness
Anglicist Vietnamese
No. % No. %
a1 6 38 a1 12 71
a2 8 50 a2 5 29
a3 2 13
b1 12 46 b1 6 43
b2 12 46 b2 4 29
b3 2 8 b3 4 29
c3 8 c1 5 26
c2 4 21
c3 10 53

Statistics for Anglicist participants in table 4 indicates that if the

eyebrows are pulled together, people at that time maybe are deeply sad or
just at an average level. Unlike Anglicist participants, Vietnamese ones
often pull down the eyebrows when they are in that state. However, one
common feature shared by two groups is that the eyebrows are unchanged
when people feel pretty sad.
4. Sadness expression through lips
 Chart 7:
Lip expression in percentage

Concerning lip expression, as the charts show, in two cultures,

approximately half the respondents pinch lips when they feel sad.
Specifically, 48% and 40% are the percentage collected from Anglicist
and Vietnamese participants. Despite this similarity, there is still a
difference between two groups. For example, there are slightly over
half as many Anglicist participants who choose to pull their lips
laterally and downwards as Vietnamese ones (32% vs. 20%).
Moreover, 40% of Vietnamese respondents claim that their lips stay
the same if sad. This doubles the percentage of Anglicist ones.
5. Sadness expression through hand gestures
 Chart 8:
Hand gesture expression in number

Chart 9:
Hand gesture expression in percentage

The most striking feature from the chart is that the two ways
of expressing sadness via hand gestures are mostly used in two
cultures. In Anglicist countries, “one hand covering the forehead”
which account for 40% of the total participants ranks first. 14 per
50 Anglicist participants pick up “one hand covering eyes”, which
is the second-best.

One hand covering the forehead

One hand covering eyes

The situation is different in Vietnamese culture. The largest

number of Vietnamese respondents who hold two cupped hands
covering their cheeks is 16 respondents. This is followed by choice
A “cheek leaning on one folded hand”, which makes up 20% of the
total population.
 Cheek leaning on one folded hand
2 cupped hands covering cheeks

Table 7:
Level of sadness
Anglicist Vietnamese
No. % No. %
a1 4 27
a2 4 a2 7 47
a3 4 27
b1 4 b1 4 80
b2 1 20
c1 4 50 c1 5 31
c2 2 25 c2 7 44
c3 2 25 c3 4 25
d1 10 71 d2 1 25
d2 4 29 d3 3 75
e1 6 30 e1 3 30
e2 12 60 e2 4 40
e3 2 10 e3 3 30
 The table reveals that 10 out of 14 Anglicist people cover
their forehead with their hands when they feel sad. The more they
are sad, the more likely they show their sadness by covering the
eyes with hands. As regards to Vietnamese participants, when two
cupped hands support the cheeks or one cheek leans on one folded
hand, it can be inferred that the level of sadness at that time is just
average.
6. Sadness expression through postures

Here are illustrations of postures put in the questionnaire.

Postures Description
This person is sitting
with her arms
clasping her knees.
The head is hanging
down.
a.
This person is sitting
with her chin resting
on folded arms.

b.
 This person is sitting
bending the back
down, the forehead
towards the knees.

c.
This person is sitting
with arm-gripping,
staring into space.
The back is leaning
against a tree.

d.
This person is sitting
with arm-cross on the
table. She tilts her
head and rests her
chin on arm-cross.
e.
 Chart 11:
Posture expression in percentage

As presented in the charts, nearly up to 80% of Anglicist

picks up choice B and D as the way to show their sadness. The
same number of respondents with the same choices is collected
from Vietnamese population. Regarding the other three choices,
each choice receives under 10 responses out of 50 from each
culture. As for choice A, no Anglicist participants convey their
emotion through this posture.
 The table below reveals a great similarity between Anglicist
and Vietnamese cultures. Out of 38 Anglicist respondents choosing
B and D, the total number of people who claims that the emotional
intensity is average at that time is 30, accounts for close to 80%.
Similarly, slightly over 60% of Vietnamese respondents do the
same.
Table 8:
Level of sadness
Anglicist Vietnamese
No. % No. %
a2 2 50
a3 2 50
b1 4 20 b1 4 19
b2 16 80 b2 13 62
b3 4 19
c1 6 75
c2 2 25 c2 2
d1 4 22 d1 2 12
d2 14 78 d2 10 59
d3 5 29
e1 1 17
e3 4 e3 5 83

7. Sadness expression through proxemics

Conversational distance
Public
Interlocutor
Intimate Personal Social (1- (3.5-7.5
(0-0.5 m) (0.5-1 m) 3.5 m) m) > 7.5 m
 V V V V V
A A A A A
The older 10 10 25 30 25
The younger 5 13 30 25 15 12
The same age 15 10 25 30 10 10
Same sex 10 15 32 30 8 5
Opposite sex 9 16 15 25 20 5 10
Family member 13 25 25 10 12 15
Close friend 25 30 25 10 10
Stranger 25 35 15 15 10

Table 9:
Proxemics expression in number

Conversational distance
Public
Intimate Personal Social (1- (3.5-7.5
Interlocutor
(0-0.5 m) (0.5-1 m) 3.5 m) m) > 7.5 m
V V V V V
A A A A A
The older 20 20 50 60 50
The younger 10 26 60 50 30 24
The same age 30 20 50 60 20 20
Same sex 20 30 64 60 16 10
Opposite sex 18 32 30 50 40 10 20
Family member 26 50 50 20 24 30
Close friend 50 60 50 20 20
Stranger 50 70 30 30 20

Table 10:
Proxemics expression in percentage
 Hall (1976) suggests that the intimate distance is used by
lovers, family members, and very close friends. This claim is
supported by statistics to some extent. Particularly, the percentage
of Anglicist and Vietnamese participants who keep intimate
distance with close friends is 50% and 60% respectively. To
strangers, intimate distance does not exist in both cultures.
Although they bear some superficial similarities, the differences
between Anglicist and Vietnamese culture are pronounced.
However, in Anglicist culture, only 26% of the total participants
are in direct contact with family members in intimate distance
whereas the proportion of Vietnamese ones (50%) approximately
doubles because in a high-context culture like Vietnam, close
contact is always maintained between family members. Intimate
distance is more acceptable when communicating with people at
the same age than family members in Anglicist culture (30% vs.
26%). However, no intimate distance is kept with the older and
younger among Anglicist people, meanwhile; more Vietnamese
people still maintain direct contact with those people. Although
Vietnamese culture does not accept intimate distance with people
of opposite sex, this distance is still kept by 18% of Anglicist
participants.
Personal distance is normal and acceptable for a casual and
personal conversation (Do &Dao, 2006). In Anglicist culture, 32
per 50 informants maintaining personal distance with people of
same sex is the greatest number. A marginally smaller number of
people who claims to be in personal zone with people at the same
age, family member and close friend comprise half the
respondents. On the other hand, the number of Vietnamese
participants keeping personal distance with the younger or the
people of the same sex or at the same age constitutes a significant
percentage of the total (60%), half of which accepts this distance
with people of opposite sex.
Concerning social distance, it is likely that both Anglicist
and Vietnamese people keep this distance with the older as claimed
by 50% and 60% of the total informants from two cultures. Social
distance is also acceptable when communicating with the younger
or the people of opposite sex in Anglicist culture or with stranger
in Vietnamese one.
Public distance is the most preferable distance when
communicating with strangers (70%) and the older (50%) in
Anglicist culture. 30% of Vietnamese respondents admit that they
also keep the same distance as Anglicist ones. In Vietnamese
culture, people also maintain public distance with people of
opposite sex, neither do Anglicist people. Commonly, physical
contact between members of the same sex is normal and
acceptable, direct contact with members of the opposite sex should
be avoided in Vietnam.
II. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE FREQUENCY OF SADNESS
EXPRESSION VIA NONVERBAL CUES IN VIETNAM AND
ENGLISH - SPEAKING COUNTRIES
1. Age

Table 11:
The influence of age
(in percentage)
Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never
Interlocutor V V V V V
A A A A A
The older 4 24 30 40 42 24 26 8 2
The younger 2 28 14 20 32 32 38 20 14
The same age 12 10 64 56 20 24 4 8 2

As can be clearly seen from the table, there is a great similarity

between the two groups of subjects regarding the influence of the
interlocutor’s age on the frequency of sadness expression. Two thirds of
Anglicist respondents (64%) claim that they “usually” show their sadness
with people of their age. Just as Anglicist people, over a half Vietnamese
respondents (56%) find it easier in sadness expression with people at the
same age than the older or the younger.
In contrast to the researcher’s expectation, as responded by 40%
and 42% of the participants from Anglicist and Vietnamese culture, they
show their sadness with the younger less frequently than the older. To the
younger, sadness expression rarely takes place in both cultures.

2. Gender
 Table 12:
The influence of gender
(in percentage)
Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never
Interlocutor V V V V V
A A A A A
Same sex 12 6 60 32 24 48 4 12 2
Opposite sex 4 24 28 64 42 8 24 6

As suggested by Ph.D. John Gray, “Men are from Mars,

Women are from Venus”. In other words, he would like to put a
heavy emphasis on the differences between two genders: men and
women. Particularly, there is a strong agreement with John Gray’s
idea in the article “Gender Differences and Personal Interaction”.
3
The author of this article stresses that “when it comes to body
language, men and women show definite differences in terms of
nonverbal behaviors as well as the purpose behind those
behaviours”. Truly, these differences greatly influence nonverbal
communication between genders. For example, based on statistics
in sadness expression via nonverbal communication, in Anglicist
and Vietnamese culture, people are more likely to express their
emotion with those who are of the same sex than of the opposite
sex. The website mentioned above also highlights that “women
tend to be more attuned to emotions, connections with others,
relationships, and the social parts of life,” whereas “men tend to be
more attuned to status, masculinity, and tasks.” This could be one

http://www.bodylanguageexpert.co.uk/GenderDifferncesAndPersonalI
nteraction.html
 of the reasons for a strong preference for sadness expression
nonverbally with people of the same sex as little misunderstanding
could happen between them.
3. Personality

Table 13:
The influence of personality
(in percentage)
Personality A V
Introverted 12% 42%
Neutral 44% 10%
Extroverted 44% 48%

Chart 12: The influence of personality

(in percentage)
The chart indicates that concerning the personality, the number of
Vietnamese introverts is slightly three times as many as that of Anglicist
ones. This leads to less frequency of sadness expression via nonverbal
communication in Vietnamese culture as proved in the previous part.
Introverts are more interested in their own thoughts and feelings than
spending time with other people. As a result, when they are sad, they
appear to stay alone and not to be with others at that time. Conversely,
 extroverts really enjoy being with other people, so that the possibility of
emotion expression nonverbally is higher.
Additionally, from the statistics in the chart, the inference is
different from Ellis’s idea (1995). He suggested in his book that
“compared with foreigners, the Vietnamese often sound shy and
reserved”. This manifests introversion of Vietnamese people. This might
be true ten years ago; this situation, however, has changed now. The chart
shows that the number of Anglicist and Vietnamese extroverts is almost
the same. Therefore, emotional expression of Vietnamese people is not so
limited as the time before.
4. Relationship

Table 14:
The influence of relationship
(in percentage)
Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never
Interlocutor V V V V V
A A A A A
Family member 12 6 18 16 12 22 6 3 2 3
Close friend 22 19 20 21 6 8 2 1 1
Stranger 4 4 8 9 8 14 30 23
There was a traditional belief that people in low-context cultures
felt less comfortable in expressing emotions to family members. This
belief is supported by (Gudykunst, 2003) as he stated that “in
individualistic cultures, family members often do their ‘own thing’ on
different schedules”. Thus, in a high-context environment, there is a
closer contact between family members compared to a low-context one.
In both cultures, nonverbal communication in sadness expression is
limited when communicating with a stranger and people tend to show
their emotion with those who are in relationship with them. However, as
indicated in the table, like Vietnamese respondents, Anglicist ones are
also more likely to express their sadness with their close friends rather
than with members of the family.
5. Social setting

Table 15:
The influence of social setting
(in percentage)
V
The place A
No. % No. %
At home 45 90% 33 66%
At the restaurant 5 10%
At the workplace 5 10%
In the park 5 10% 7 14%

It is clear from the table that home is the most preferable place to
show the sadness via nonverbal communication. This place is chosen by
up to 90% of the Anglicist participants, which is greater than the
percentage of the Vietnamese ones (66%). Another place which receives
fewer responses from Anglicist & Vietnamese cultures (10% and 14%
respectively) is the park. However, unlike Vietnamese people, Anglicist
people are not interested in expressing their sadness in such places as
restaurant and workplace. In sum, nonverbal communication in sadness
expression occurs in more places in Vietnam culture than in Anglicist
one.
 CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION
I. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
On the whole, the researcher has carried out a comparative study of
nonverbal communication in sadness expression in Vietnamese and
English – speaking countries. Research questions have been addressed
through the process of in-depth data analysis. In this part, the researcher
will briefly sum up the outcomes of the study.
Firstly, main findings reveal that the Anglicist people tend to
express their sadness via nonverbal communication more frequently than
the Vietnamese people. When sad, the Vietnamese are more likely to
conceal their emotion to maintain social harmony. The similarities and
differences in sadness expression through five major channels: facial
expressions, eyes, hand gestures, postures and proxemics are also evident.
The biggest difference lies in hand gesture expression. In Anglicist
culture, sadness is often expressed through “one hand covering the
forehead” or “one hand covering eyes”. On the other hand, many
Vietnamese people show their sadness through “cheek leaning on one
folded hand” or “two cupped hands covering cheeks”. Therefore, ways of
sadness expression through hand gesture are totally different between two
cultures. Another striking finding in the research is the difference in eye
expression. As many scholars claim narrowed eyes as a universal
expression and this is true to all cultures. However, it is proved from the
study is that casting down the eyes seem to be more universal. As regards
to other nonverbal cues, ways of expressing sadness between two cultures
are quite similar to some extent. What makes a difference is the
corresponding intensity of sadness.
The findings of the study also highlight some important factors in
the frequency of sadness expression through nonverbal communication in
Vietnamese and English-speaking countries. Those factors are age,
gender, personality, relationship, and social setting. First, both
Vietnamese and Anglicist people are freer to show their sadness via
nonverbal cues with people of the same age than the older or the younger.
Similarly, in both cultures, people of the same sex often display their
emotion nonverbally with each other. Nonverbal emotional displays with
the people of the opposite sex, however, are more acceptable and normal
in Anglicist culture than in Vietnamese culture. Personality is another
important factor. Compared to Anglicist people, Vietnamese people tend
to be more introverted and their sadness expression is consequently
limited. Regarding the relationship, it can be referred that a stronger bond
exists between members in a Vietnamese family than in an Anglicist one.
Social setting also has an impact on the frequency of using nonverbal
communication in sadness expression. Unlike Vietnamese people,
Anglicist people are less likely to display their emotion in public places
like restaurant, café, or workplace.
From the results of the study, although sadness expression is
considered one of six universal expressions, people all around the world
do not express their sadness absolutely the same. There are still other
factors which determine the potential differences between two cultures.
As a result, when communicating with people from other cultures, we
should consider culture, age, gender, personality, relationship influences
on nonverbal communication in emotional expression. We should also
not take nonverbal communication out of the context. By taking into
considerations all the aspects of communication, we will be more
effective in communicating with people of different cultures.
II. LIMITATIONS
 Even though the researcher has made a considerable effort during
the research time, time and resource constraint and the limitation of the
researcher’s experience led to some unavoidable limitations beyond hope.
The first limitation is related to research method. Though survey
questionnaire was claimed to be indispensable in the present study
because of a large number of advantages it brings, the researcher should
conduct an interview and make a careful observation if possible. With the
aim to triangulate the data collected, the findings will be more valuable
and highly-appreciated.
One more limitation is research sampling. As the research is cross-
cultural, 50 for each group is rather small, which might prevent the
researcher from obtaining accurate results. Kuechler (1987) suggested
one way to deal with problems is to work with researchers or assistants
from the host cultures being studied. However, this should be too difficult
for the researcher.
Despite the aforementioned shortcomings, the researcher’s
flexibility and dedication could help gain the findings’ validity and
reliability. It should be noted that future researchers should take those
limitations into serious consideration when conducting related studies.
III. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Cross-cultural study of emotion expression needs updating as the
world has been changing day by day and it is central to our understanding
of people all around the world. Therefore, it offers other researchers
opportunities to carry out further studies. What has been found in the
present study is still on the surface of the matter.
It is suggested that the study could be improved by expanding the
research sampling and conducting three research methods simultaneously
if possible in order to avoid such limitations.
 Another alternative is to narrow the scope of study. For instance, a
comparison study between Vietnamese and American or British culture
should be considered.
IV. CONTRIBUTION OF THE RESEARCH
Hopefully, this paper can be a useful reference document for
teachers and students who are interested in the cross-cultural
communication. Moreover, the researcher would like to raise the
awareness and understanding of possible similarities and differences in
nonverbal communication in two cultures. We are living in the world in
which cross-cultural communication is indispensable. Therefore,
communication between different cultures should be improved. Then the
study could be seen as an attempt to provide more knowledge about
Vietnamese and Anglicist culture and to boost mutual understanding
between two cultures.
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REFERENCES FOR PICTURES

1. http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-image-sadness-image9080621
2. http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-sadness-
image6116656
3. http://www.sdims.com/site/sad/sad-faces.htm
4. http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photo-little-child-in-
sadness-image10646825
5. http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photography-sadness-
image8255327
6. http://www.face-and-emotion.com/dataface/emotion/x_sad.html
7. http://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/courses/vi&multi/vdec082iii.html
8. http://todaysseniorsnetwork.com/Depression_Leads_to_Artery_Thickeni
ng.htm
9. http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos-sadness-image6023473
10. http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-sadness-
image4843019
11. http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-depression-or-sadness-
image9686204
12. http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-sad-women-image10503734
13. http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-sadness-
image5958276
14. http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-sadness-girl-
image11517326
15. http://www.taochu.com/pictures/?dir=/sad
16. http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-sad-woman-
image11342249
 APPENDICES

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

I am doing research on “Nonverbal communication in sadness expression in Vietnam and English - speaking countries” for my graduation paper.
This questionnaire is carefully designed for my study. Your completing these questions and giving your sincere answers could help me a lot in
accomplishing the research successfully. Your answers will be kept confidential and used for academic purposes only. If you have any questions,
please contact me at phamnhung312@gmail.com. Thank you very much for your contribution.
PART 1: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Age:
Gender: Male / Female

Nationality: □ British □ American □ Canadian □Australian Others: …………..

Occupation:

Characteristics: □ Introverted □ Neutral □ Extroverted

PART 2: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION IN SADNESS EXPRESSION
Nonverbal communication - body language includes the full range of gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and conversational
distance (Levine and Adelman, 1993).
1. How often do you express your sadness via nonverbal communication? Circle one of these options:
a. always b. usually c. sometimes d. rarely e. never
2. How often do you express your sadness nonverbally with these people? Please tick the box that best describes you

Your partner Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never

The older
The younger
 The same age
Same sex
Opposite sex
Family member
Close friend
Stranger
3. Where are you more likely to express your sadness via nonverbal cues?
a. At home
b. At the restaurant
c. At the workplace
d. In the park
e. Others …………………………. (Please specify)

In question 4, 5, 6, circle the option that you mostly use and the corresponding level of sadness
1: extremely sad
2: sad
3: moderately sad
4. How do you show your sadness through facial expression?
Eyes a. eyes cast down b. narrowed eyes c. Closed eyes d. Damp or tearful e. no changes f. others ….
eyes (Please
describe)

1 2 3
 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Eyebrows a. pulling down b. pulling together c. no changes d. others ….
(Please
describe)

1 2 3
1 2 3 1 2 3
Lips a. lips pulling laterally and downwards b. lips pinching c. no changes d. others ….
(Please
describe)

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

5. How do you show your sadness through hand gesture?

a. cheek leaning on one b. 2 hands covering the c. 2 cupped hands covering d. one hand covering e. one hand covering f. others ….
folded hand face eyes the forehead (Please
describe)

cheeks
1 2 3
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

6. How do you show your sadness through posture?

a. b. c. d. e. f. others
….
(Please
describe)

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
7. How far is your conversational distance when you express your sadness? For each kind of one partner, please tick (√ ) one option:

Conversational distance
Your partner
Intimate (0-0.5 m) Personal (0.5-1 m) Social (1-3.5 m) Public (3.5-7.5 m) > 7.5 m
The older
The younger
The same age
Same sex
Opposite sex
Family member
Close friend
Stranger

☺♫♫♫ THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP♫♫♫☺

 Câu hỏi khảo sát
Tôi tên là Phạm Thị Hồng Nhung, sinh viên khóa 40, khoa Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa Anh Mỹ, trường Đại học Ngoại Ngữ, Đại học Quốc Gia Hà
Nội. Bản khảo sát này nhằm phục vụ cho đề tài khóa luận tốt nghiệp của tôi: “Biểu lộ nỗi buồn thông qua ngôn ngữ cơ thể ở Việt Nam và
các nước nói tiếng Anh”. Câu trả lời của bạn đóng góp rất lớn cho sự thành công của đề tài này. Tối xin đảm bảo rằng những thông tin cá
nhân của bạn sẽ không bị tiết lộ dưới bất kì trường hợp và dưới bất kỳ hình thức nào. Nếu bạn có bất kỳ câu hỏi nào, bạn có thể liên hệ với tôi
qua hòm thư phamnhung312@gmail.com, tôi xin vui lòng giải đáp. Tôi xin chân thành cảm ơn sự hợp tác của các bạn.
Phần I: Thông tin cá nhân
• Tuổi :
• Giới tính: Nam / Nữ
• Nghề nghiệp:

• Tính cách: □ Hướng nội □ Trung lập □ Hướng ngoại

Phần II: Biểu lộ nỗi buồn thông qua ngôn ngữ cơ thể ở Việt Nam và các nước nói tiếng Anh

S
dng ngôn ng c th hay còn gi là giao tip phi ngôn t bao g m: nhng biu hi
n trên khuôn mt, c
ch, ánh m t, và
khong cách giao tip. (Levine and Adelman, 1993).

1. Bạn có thường xuyên sử dụng ngôn ngữ cơ thể để biểu lộ nỗi buồn không? Khoanh tròn một trong những lựa chọn sau:
a. luôn luôn b. thường xuyên c. thỉnh thoảng d. hiếm khi e. không bao giờ
2. Bạn thường biểu lộ nỗi buồn với ai? Hãy đánh dấu vào ô trống
Người đối thoại Luôn luôn Thường xuyên Thỉnh thoảng Hiếm khi Không bao giờ
Người hơn tuổi
Người kém tuổi
Người cùng tuổi
Cùng giới
Khác giới
Người thân
Bạn thân
Người lạ

3. Bạn có xu hướng hay biểu lỗ nỗi buồn thông qua ngôn ngữ cơ thể ở đâu?
a. Ở nhà
b. Nhà hàng
c. Nơi làm việc
d. Công viên
e. Nơi khác (vui lòng nói rõ) …………………………………………

Trong 3 câu 4, 5, 6, bn hãy khoanh tròn 1 biu hi

n thưng xuyên nht ca bn và ch ra mc đ ni bun tưng ng:
1: rt bu n
2: bu n
3: khá là bu n
 4. Bạn thể hiện nỗi buồn như thế nào trên khuôn mặt?
a. nhìn xuống b. mắt thu hẹp lại c. nhắm mắt d. mắt buồn ủ rũ e. không thay f. biểu
hoặc khóc đổi hiện khác
….
(Bạn vui
Mắt lòng miêu
tả)

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
1 2 3 1 2 3
a. nhíu xuống b. nhíu lại với nhau c. không thay đổi d. biểu
hiện khác
….
Lông (Bạn vui
mày lòng miêu
tả)

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
a. miệng rộng ra và kéo 2 khóe môi xuống b. bặm môi c. không thay đổi d. biểu
hiện khác
….
(Bạn vui
Môi lòng miêu
tả)

1 2 3
1 2 3 1 2 3
 5. Bạn thể hiện nỗi buồn qua cử chỉ của bàn tay như thế nào? Bạn vui lòng miêu tả.
a. tựa má vào tay b. 2 tay che mặt c. 2 tay đặt lên d. 1 tay che mắt e. 1 tay bóp trán f. biểu hiện khác
má ….
(Bạn vui lòng
miêu tả)

1 2 3

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
1 2 3

6. Bạn thể hiện nỗi buồn qua tư thế, dáng điệu như thế nào? Bạn vui lòng miêu tả.
a. b. c. d. e. f. biểu hiện
khác ….
(Bạn vui lòng
miêu tả)

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
7. Khi bạn thể hiện nỗi buồn, khoảng cách giao tiếp giữa bạn và người đối thoại là bao nhiêu? Bạn hãy đánh dấu vào ô trống thích hợp

Khoảng cách giao tiếp

Người đối thoại Thân mật (từ 0
Riêng tư (từ 0.5
Xã hội (từ 1
Công cộng (từ 3.5
> 7.5 m
0.5 mét) 1 mét). 3.5 mét).
7.5 mét).
Người hơn tuổi
Người kém tuổi
Người cùng tuổi
Cùng giới
Khác giới
Người thân
Bạn thân
Người lạ

Cảm ơn các bạn đã dành thời gian điền vào bản khảo sát.
☺♫♫♫ Tôi xin chân thành cảm ơn ♫♫♫☺