Lecture 8: Cultural Influences & Applications

Question 1

t/f- even if people gain fluency in another language, they are not perceived as culturally fluent unless they also adopt the NVC patterns/mannerisms associated with that culture and language

Answer 1

true

Question 2

Facial expressions of emotion likely have a biological basis and are thought to be universal. Cultural differences occur in how people ____ and ____ these facial expressions

Answer 2

manage, modify

Question 3

how did Americans vs Japanese react when viewing a stressful film alone, vs in the presence of an experimenter? why?

Answer 3

when alone, both groups showed negative emotions
when with experimenter, Americans continued showing negative emotions, but Japanese more likely to smile
Japanese abided by cultural display rules- in Japanese culture, it is impolite to make negative expressions in the presence of a higher status individual (experimenter)

Question 4

cultural display rules

Answer 4

Culturally based rules that are learned early in childhood to assist individuals in the management and modification of their emotional expressions in their culture

Question 5

define each of the 7 ways of managing emotional expressions:

Answer 5

Question 6

in what context are we most likely to Express our emotions?

Answer 6

with close family/friends where we don’t feel the need to monitor or change our emotions

Question 7

how is Simulation different from Masking?

Answer 7

in simulating you are NOT FEELING AN EMOTION AT ALL but putting one on (eg. feigning happiness)- typically done in a manipulative way

Question 8

You are meeting your new in-laws and they say something which angers you, but it’s important for you to make a good impression, so you smile. Which of the 7 ways of emotional expression management are you engaging in?

Answer 8

masking

Question 9

Emotional expressions can exhibit both universal and cultural specific properties in the same individuals in the same context. How can this be?

Answer 9

emotions MUST be assessed across time to see this- first, we exhibit our true, biological emotion, followed by culturally-specific modifications and management

Question 10

Expressive styles that require more modification require more time for display than those that require less modification. Explain what this means and give the example of simulating vs deamplification/amplification

Answer 10

certain modifications to emotional expressions require more cognitive resources, and therefore more time- eg. simulating takes longer than amplifying or deamplifying

Question 11

an initial emotional response is more likely to reflect … and the subsequent emotional response is more likely to reflect…

a. cultural influence, universal emotional reaction
b. universal emotional reaction, cultural influence

Answer 11

b. universal emotional reaction, cultural influence

Question 12

A highly intense, emotionally salient event occurs amidst a group of people. Explain where their attention is initially and subsequently drawn, and how this influences beliefs about cultural variability in emotions

Answer 12

attention initially drawn to the stimulus event and NOT the emotions of the people involved in it. Attention is subsequently drawn to those people. However, but this point people are usually beginning to engage in culturally regulated behaviour, meaning immediate universal reactions are often missed. This process may perpetuate beliefs about cultural variability that exists in expressive behaviour

Question 13

comment on levels of expressivity in collectivist vs individualist cultures

Answer 13

collectivist- endorse less expressivity in comparison to individualist cultures
individualist- associated with higher expressivity norms, especially for positive emotions

Question 14

t/f- individualist cultures are associated with endorsement of all emotions to people in family and close friends

Answer 14

true

Question 15

which statement is most accurate of people in individualist cultures?

a. more likely to display negative emotions towards strangers/outgroups
b. more likely to display surprise and happiness towards strangers/outgroups
c. equally likely to display surprise/happiness OR negative emotions towards strangers/outgroups

Answer 15

b. more likely to display surprise and happiness towards strangers/outgroups

Question 16

fill in the blanks for expressive and reserved cultures

Answer 16

Question 17

_____ cultures have a wider range of vocal speech (in terms of Hz) and have a higher speech rate (talk faster)
pick: expressive vs reserved

Answer 17

expressive

Question 18

t/f- context in cultural differences in expressive behaviours must be considered, seeing as there are contexts in which members of expressive cultures are very reserved and vice versa

Answer 18

true

Question 19

High context-differentiating cultures show ____ distinctions in behavior according to context and “map on” to ____ cultures
Low context-differentiating cultures show ____ distinctions in behavior according to context and “map on” to ____ cultures
words to pick from: smaller, reserved, larger, expressive

Answer 19

high context- larger, reserved
low context- smaller, expressive (smaller distinctions in behaviour according to context- people less mindful of how they are perceived by others)

Question 20

comment on the degree of training received in medical environments for NVC/microexpression interpretation

Answer 20

minimal-non-existent

Question 21

why is being able to understand NVC so important for physicians, nurses, and therapists?

Answer 21

being able to detect subtle changes in emotional expressions, including micro, can have sig impact on how info may be interpreted
- sometimes people intentionally misrepresent info, others are verbally limited from disclosing info and rely on NVC

Question 22

5 situations under which people are most likely to lie to a medical practitioner (and where reading NVC is critical!)

Answer 22

1. History of psychiatric illness or symptoms of depression or psychosis
2. Whether patient may be pregnant (eg., teenager doesn’t want to admit to having sex)
3. Sexual behavior and orientation
4. Alcohol and recreational drug use
5. Domestic, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse

Question 23

2 reasons why being able to detect and interpret NV behaviour is very important for medical professionals:

Answer 23

1. NV behaviours can be warnings to alert practitioners/ID areas of incongruity between what is reported and the reaction expressed (emotional reaction tends to be authentic, and important to ID if NV expression doesn’t match verbal communication)
2. NV behaviours can allow exploration of larger issues with patients who argue they are upset by one issue, when the actual issue is different (eg. spouse going to hospice example)

Question 24

Matsumoto argued these 3 NV topics should be addressed in clinician training:

Answer 24

1) Body language skills
2) Facial expressions for the basic emotions (how to recognize both micro and macro expressions of these emotions)
3) The ability to recognize nonverbal cues that they themselves (the clinician) give off and try to understand the emotional states, beliefs, and drivers behind their own internal dynamic NV behaviours (ie., recognizing the impact of oneself and being self-aware of the messages you may be sending as a clinician)

Question 24

Matsumoto argued these 3 NV topics should be addressed in clinician training:

Answer 24

1) Body language skills
2) Facial expressions for the basic emotions (how to recognize both micro and macro expressions of these emotions)
3) The ability to recognize nonverbal cues that they themselves (the clinician) give off and try to understand the emotional states, beliefs, and drivers behind their own internal dynamic NV behaviours (ie., recognizing the impact of oneself and being self-aware of the messages you may be sending as a clinician)

Question 25

during the Mental Status Exam (MSE) … are assessed

a. verbal behaviours
b. NV behaviours
c. both

Answer 25

c. both

Question 26

explain what each of the following seating choices by a patient would signify during a Mental Status Exam (MSE)

a. sitting with chair back against wall or sitting right next to the door
b. sitting with chair blocking the door

Answer 26

a. - suggests paranoia, self-protection, needing an escape route
b. - suggets malignant intention

Question 27

explain what each of the following clothing choices by a patient would signify during a Mental Status Exam (MSE)

a. dressed formally
b. dressed casually
c. disheveled, dirty clothing

Answer 27

a. - person cares what others think, have status issues, compensating for low self-esteem
b. - being more laid back, less worried about first impressions
c. - may have difficulty functioning to due mental/medical illness, substance abuse

Question 28

a patient who has not groomed shows up to a MSE. They might be living with these 2 disorders:

Answer 28

psychosis, schizophrenia

Question 29

BONUS: during an MSE, which of the following would likely provide cues about the patient’s recent activities?

a. clothing
b. grooming
c. smell
d. dynamic behaviours

Answer 29

c. smell (eg. smelling like weed)

Question 30

what do clenched teeth signify during a Mental Status Exam (MSE)? (3)

Answer 30

tension, anxiety, anger

Question 31

what do clenched fists signify during a Mental Status Exam (MSE)? (2)

Answer 31

anger, internal distress

Question 32

what does pacing signify during a Mental Status Exam (MSE)? (3)

Answer 32

agitation, anxiety, worry

Question 33

what does hand wringing signify during a Mental Status Exam (MSE)? (2)

Answer 33

psychic pain, severe depression

Question 34

what does a patient having sweaty, vs dry hands suggest?

Answer 34

sweaty- nervousness/anxiety

dry- calmness

Question 35

a patient doesn’t want to shake hands. What does this suggest? (2)

Answer 35

1. paranoia

2. contamination fears (eg. germs; OCD)

Question 36

a patient gives a strong handshake with 2 hands. What does this suggest?

Answer 36

strong involvement and being very psychologically present

Question 37

a patient violates the clinician’s boundaries and stands too close. What does this suggest? What would it suggest if they also made strong eye contact and clenched their fists?

Answer 37

they may have had boundary violations in their life (physical, sexual abuse)

eye contact + fists = warning of violence

Question 38

a patient doesn’t make eye contact with the clinician. What might this suggest?

a. they are from a culture where respect is shown through lack of eye contact
b. they have autism
c. they have psychosis
d. all of these
e. a and b only

Answer 38

e. a and b only

Question 39

a patient makes too much eye contact with the clinician. What might this suggest?

a. they are from a culture where respect is shown through lack of eye contact
b. they have autism
c. they have psychosis
d. all of these
e. a and b only

Answer 39

c. they have psychosis

Question 40

a patient stares at a clinician. What might this suggest?

Answer 40

aggressive maneuver to threaten

Question 41

a patient glares at a clinician. What might this suggest? (2)

Answer 41

paranoia, hostility

Question 42

a patient darts their eyes. What might this suggest? (2)

Answer 42

paranoia, hypervigilance

Question 43

a patient has dilated pupils, suggesting…

a. excessive adrenaline
b. low adrenaline
c. excessive serotonin
d. low serotonin

Answer 43

a. excessive adrenaline

Question 44

if a patient’s pupils don’t constrict with light, it could be from…

a. toxicity from medication
b. illegal drugs
c. both of these

Answer 44

c. both of these