In the question Is there any reason why English doesn’t add respectful words in every sentence? that was asking why there's more respectful language in Korean and Japanese compared to English, the accepted answer was
The primary reason is cultural. Western languages are not steeped in Confucian culture. Filial piety and constantly overtly expressed respect for the elderly, for seniors, and for superiors are not central values in Western cultures. Most Western languages have polite forms (du & Sie in German, tu and Vous in French, for "you"), but English lost that distinction when thee and thou died a couple of hundred years ago. Still, there are polite & impolite ways to speak English. English speakers generally consider using honorifics as obsequious.
This is what I had always assumed, but when I hear someone else describe it, it sounds a little like stereotyping (of asian cultures, and of western cultures) and speculation based on small sample sizes. Has any research been done to confirm the effect of culture on the amount and usage of politeness-related constructs, such as honorific endings, honorific prefixes and different forms of verbs for different politeness levels?