display rule

is a rule stating that while emotional expression is universal, there are socially learned, culturally differentiated rules for who is allowed to show which emotion to whom in what kind of social context.

I reconciled our findings that expressions are universal with Birdwhistell's observation of how they differ from one culture to another by coming up with the idea of display rules. These, I proposed, are socially learned, often culturally different, rules about the management of expression, about who can show which emotion to whom and when they can do so. It is why in most public sporting contests the loser doesn't show the sadness and disappointment he or she feels. (Ekman 1999: 21)

is a rule which determines who's allowed to show what expression in what kind of social context (like a 'good' loser of a sporting event).

display rule, n.Definitions

display rule