Lecture 6: Emotions Flashcards
(42 cards)
universality thesis of facial expressions
arised due to research in 1969-1975 -> small scale societies in Pacific -> not exposed to Western norms, correctly matched configurations of facial movements to emotions stories
weakness: limited response options
how did findings from 2008 change the perception of facial expression universality?
more small scale societies included (African, South American countries)
strengths: increased diversity in ecological and social contexts + more flexibility in response options
making sense of facial expressions in terms of action identification
affect concepts may be universally perceived
however, emotions concept may vary cross-culturally
people don’t always infer mental causes of facial movements (mentalizing)
What part of facial expressions seems to be universally perceived?
valence -> pleasent/unpleasent
arousal -> high/low
mentalizing
infering specific mental features (such as fear) from facial expressions
-> emphasis on unobservable mental causes of movements
action identification
making sense of facial expressions in terms of behaviors (looking, smelling)
-> emphasis on function of behaviors
Where cultural variation is pleasent in emotional research?
emotional experiences, emotion words, subjective well-being and happiness
About what couples with different cultural backgrounds may disagree on?
-> stimulus -> what causes emotional reactions?
-> appraisal -> different interpretations of situations
-> action readiness -> internal feeling of wanting to do sth
-> physiological response
-> emotion words characteristic to language of origin
-> emotional behavior
evolutionary approach to emotions
James Lange Theory of Emotions -> our body responds to environmental stimuli by preparing us to react in order to survive
emotions = bodily cues that signal how we should behave
social constructionist approach to emotions
Walter Cannon - argued that autonomic nervous system is too clumsy and slow to differentiate between all emotional states
argues that emotions are based on physiological responses + interpretation of those responses (multi-component factor)
emotional are highly variable and contextualised responses -> more social approach: what kinds of situations are understood in what way?
study - ephedrine shot
participants received shot of ephedrine which lead to strong physiological arousal
different situational cues:
euphoria condition -> nice confederate
anger condition -> rude confederate
when participants were not informed that they received the drug, they interpreted their arousal according to situational cues
showcasing that emotions depend on interpretations of physiological responses
Do facial expressions have evolutionary advantage?
disgust -> nostrils constricted -> harder to breathe in -> protection from toxic fumes
anger -> brow furrows -> protection from potential blows
Paul Ekman -> studies in New Guinea - high agreement in emotional recognition (except for surprise and sadness)
What emotion is recognized cross-culturally?
happiness
may be due to the fact that it primarily codes valence
display rules
culturally specific rules that govern which facial expressions are appropriate in given situation and how intensly they should be exhibited
examples:
Bali -> avoiding strong emotional displays
Utku Inuit -> expressions of anger absent (hostile environment - need for collaboration)
USA -> upregulation of happiness
Arab context -> honor
Do display rules affect emotions?
facial feedback hypothesis: facial expressions are one source of information we use when we infer emotional experiences
people were asked to put pen between their lips (contracting eyebrows -> anger) vs to put pen between their teeth (smiling)
cartoons were rated as funnier when participants were smiling
also botox injections make people slowe at reading emotional content
ingroup advantage
more accurate recognition of emotions within the same culture/language group (9% above the 58% accuracy average)
What are problems with paradigms asking people to match facial expressions to emotions?
1) no context -> context imapcts how you interpret emotion
2) forced choices
3) answers teach emotional concepts - via repeated trials people get an idea how they should respond
emotional experience of independent self
personal differentiation
concerned about how events might distinguish one from others
emotions are considered intrapersonal states that lie within the individual
different kinds of emotions common! -> interpersonally disengaged emotions -> proud, anger
emotional experience of interdependent self
interpersonal harmony
concerned about how events affect close others as well as onself
emotions are considered interpersonal states that connect people
different kinds of emotions common! -> interpersonally engaged -> respect, shame
why is it hard for Japanese people to indicate how they would feel in certain situations?
because the descriptions of situation do not contain information how others are feeling
Do people experience emotions not relevant to their self concept?
for interdependent self, anger is not essential experience
on average Chinese Canadians found scenarios less anger provoking; also systolic blood pressure (arousal) drops quicker for them
-> weaker emotional experience
whereas European Canadians were more prone to outwardly express anger
emotion words
culturally specific
schadenfreude (German) → joy when bad things happen to sb else who deserved it
amae (Japan) -> sweet dependence
iklas (Japan) -> pleasant feeling of frustration
ideal affect
desired feelings/emotions
although happiness is recognized universally, it doesn’t mean that people are happy about the same types of things
subjective well being of independent self
interpersonally disengaging acts feel good
well being = positive feelings
the more positive feelings, the better
high arousal positive emotions - exicitement, joy
subjective well being of interdependent self
interpersonally engaging acts feel good
well being = appriopriate role behaviors
balance between positive and negative feelings
low arousal positive emotions -> calmness, relaxation
