japanese
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Modest Japanese
Japanese are humble. If a Japanese child looks a parent in the eye when he or she is scolded, the parent will berate the child and say "Why are you looking at me that way?" As a result, most children learn to keep their heads down in front of an angry parent. This is because Japanese think that direct eye contact is not the way to be "humble". In addition Japanese tend to think that eye contact is rude and shows an attempt to threaten or challenge the other person. The parents expect their children to have humbleness. However if an American child looks down when scolded, the parent will say, "Look at me when I talk to you!" this is because in America, avoidance of eye contact is taken as indicating disinterest in what is being said. At worst, it is seen as a sign of lack of self-confidence. The culture differences have made people act differently, such as the example above, making direct eye contact with others during conversations...