This study explores how human difference in perceiving the environment affects emotional reaction to a change. Earlier research found that Europeans and East Asians perceive their environment differently. While Europeans tend to pay
attention to focal objects in the foreground, East Asians tend to see the context in the background and the relationships between the context and objects as one whole. In this study, we compare the distinctions in emotion between two groups
of subjects, European-American and Chinese-American, to perceiving a change in social connection during a video game. We measure heart rate, heart conductance, respiration, skin conductance, facial expression, and facial muscle
activation. Evidence from this study will contribute to further understanding of human-environment interaction.