Cultural Difference in the Effect of Bowing on Perceptions of Attractiveness

Abstract In Japan, it is customary to show respect to or greet someone by bowing, which involves lowering the head and bending the upper body. Previous studies have shown that a three‐dimensional computer‐generated model performing a bowing motion is perceived as more attractive than a model who is standing still. Furthermore, attractiveness is greater with a longer‐duration bowing motion, including the bending motion, the bent posture, and the stretching motion. These results suggest that bowing is associated with politeness and submissiveness, and it has a synergistic effect with physical attractiveness to enhance overall attractiveness in cultures where bowing is common. However, previous studies mainly focused on Japanese university students, and it remains unclear whether the increase in attractiveness due to bowing is evident in other cultural contexts. The present study examined the cultural dependency of the bowing effect on personal impressions in multiple cultural groups. The effect of bowing on personal impressions was compared among cultural groups. Experiment 1 involved participants from Japan, the United States, Brazil, and India, while Experiment 2 included participants from Japan, the United States, China, and Taiwan. The results indicated that the bowing effect was smaller or not observed in the non‐Japanese cultural groups, particularly for formal bowing. These findings suggest that the increase in attractiveness due to bowing is closely related to the Japanese cultural context.