Emotional Display Rules of Deaf Culture

Emotional display rules refer to the expression of culturally prescribed and socially acceptable emotions across different people and situations (Wu & Schulz, 2020). The display rules among hearing adults across several cultures are well defined and depend on the type of emotion, the individuals involved in the exchange, and the situation. Regarding Deaf culture in the United States, this minoritized group may follow unique display rules (Hosie et al., 2000), but there has been almost no research conducted with this population and the existing studies have focused on youth. The present study explores perceived emotional expressions among a sample of deaf and hard of hearing adults using the Display Rule Assessment Inventory (DRAI: Matsumoto et al., 2005). Eighty-one Deaf acculturated adults (Age range = 18 to 40 years, Female = 45; White = 49) participated in the study. The emotional display rules endorsed on the DRAI by this sample included: 1) expressing more positive than negative emotions, 2) expressing differing levels of emotions depending on the type of person involved in an interaction, and 3) expressing more emotions in public than private settings. These findings contribute to our emerging understanding of how emotional expression is perceived by deaf adults, and the potential influence of language and culture.