That sports competitions stir the hearts of many people everyone already knows. But this is especially true in international competitions, as in the case of the World Cup.

On these special occasions, there are interesting observations around what unites and differentiates us as individuals from diverse cultures, including about emotions. Admittedly, everyone is happy and celebrates a goal. But do we always express joy in the same way?

Brazilian players, for example, celebrate with small, lively choreography. It is not uncommon for them to express their joy by gathering in a circle or in a queue and giving some rehearsed passes just for the occasion, all together – even the technician can enter the dance!

Teams from other countries, however, have expressed discontent and even irritation with this festive way of celebrating. For some of them, this kind of celebration would be disrespectful, forcing the opponent – probably enraged – to wait for the whole show to end, denote immaturity, lack of professionalism and so on.

Why do coaches and players from other national teams express this kind of interpretation and feelings regarding the celebrations of Brazilians? We can make some assumptions, but when we talk about social emotions, such as pride, shame, envy, for example, we think of “rules of display.”

Paul Ekman, one of the pioneering psychologists in the scientific study of emotions, popularized this term while studying the expression of universal basic emotions across the cultures of the world. He found that basic emotions are common to all cultures, and are demonstrated in the same way on the face. They are: joy, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust. But Paul Ekman noted slight variations to what he called “display rules,” that is: privately, or in an inner circle, we all use the same muscles of the face to express joy—smiling or laughing, for example. But in a social context no. Social rules determine, from culture to culture, what is appropriate or inappropriate to demonstrate: what should be exaggerated and what should be repressed.

So the question remains: are the dancing celebrations made with the intention of provoking and disrespecting? Or are they the explosive and spontaneous expression of a country that is known worldwide for music and dance, for festivities and samba, for its swing and “malemolência”, and that has football as a reason for proud identification, national passion? What’s more, what should be the “proper” expression of joy and pride? Colder and more protocol? Not so enthusiastic and playful? More serious? Why? For whom?

Learning more about emotions and how they accompany social and cultural experiences is an important way to undo various types of prejudices, stereotypes and misunderstandings. May this be a path that leads us to a more joyful and spontaneous future!