Background: Emotional support expression—the communication of empathy, comfort, or solidarity toward others in distress—is universal but culturally variable. According to Attribution Theory (Weiner, 1986), perceived controllability of a tragedy shapes public emotions: uncontrollable events (e.g., natural disasters, accidents) elicit sympathy, whereas controllable ones (e.g., suicide) evoke blame or moral judgment. Yet, cross-cultural differences in these attributional reactions remain underexplored in natural online settings.
Methods: This study analyzed discussions on online video platforms responding to broadcast-news videos of suicides (controllable) and accidents or natural disasters (uncontrollable) across Japan, Italy, the United States, and China. A total of 480 top-voted comments were thematically coded (e.g., Empathy [S1], Comfort [S2], Blame [E2], Externalization [E3]) with inter-coder reliability κ = .78.
Results: Cultural contrasts emerged in emotional tone and attributional focus. Japanese comments emphasized Empathy and Comfort, reflecting relational harmony and acceptance of uncontrollable fate. Italian and Chinese users expressed Blame and Externalization, highlighting responsibility and institutional failure. U.S. comments focused on Affiliation and Advice-Giving, combining personal disclosure with action-oriented empathy. Across contexts, uncontrollable events evoked more supportive language than suicides, consistent with Attribution Theory.
Conclusion: Cultural attribution norms shape how empathy and blame are linguistically expressed online. Collectivistic cultures favor implicit, harmony-preserving empathy, while individualistic ones externalize responsibility or personalize support. These findings illustrate how culture and perceived controllability jointly structure collective emotional responses in the digital age.

Authors:
Yibo Zhang, Nagoya University, Japan
Mei Asakawa, Nagoya University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Yibo Zhang is studying cultural psychology at Nagoya University. He is interested in altruistic behaviors and general trust. He speaks fluent Chinese, English, and Japanese.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Tuesday Schedule

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