Week Three Flashcards
(43 cards)
James Lange Theory (2)
- emotions are the physiological responses to stimuli and act a cues to signal how we should behave
- predicts cultural universality
Two Factor Theory of Emotions (2)
- emotions are based on physiological responses and the interpretation of those responses
- predicts cultural variation
Two factor theory study (4)
- ppl were made to feel either euphoria or anger
- given a placebo shot, or were put into either the epinephrine informed or uninformed conditions
- those in the uninformed condition felt the most emotion because they had no good explanation for their emotion and interpreted it in the light of the situation they were in
- people rely on cues from the environment to help them interpret bodily sensations
Universality of Basic Emotions Study (4)
- participants from US, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Japan were shown photos of people making basic emotion expressions
- selected which emotions matched best
-identified correctly in 80-90% of photos
there appears to be universal basic emotions of happiness, disgust, sadness, surprise, anger and fear - however all countries included were industrialized, literate countries (they could have learned how to interpret typical emotional expressions of other cultures)
Basic Emotions outside of the West (4)
- participants from the Fore culture (minimal exposure to the West) were asked to imagine how they would feel and make the corresponding expression in certain situations
- they made expressions highly similar to Westernerns
- certain basic emotions/expressions seem to be universal
-BUT surprise and sadness were not recognised among the Fore
Cultural Display rules (3)
- culturally specific rules which govern which facial expressions are appropriate in a given situation and how intensely they should be expressed
- some cultures encourage expression to be exaggerated and others more muted
- heterogenous cultures have more expressive display rules
Ritualized Display
- a facial expression that is expressed in some cultures but not others, such facial expressions differ from the alleged universal facial expressions
Facial Feedback hypothesis (2)
- theory that states that facial expressions are a source of info that is used to infer our emotional experiences
- this implies that emotional expressions are not completely unrelated as the display rule argument implies
Facial Feedback Hypothesis Study (5)
- participants were either made to smile or frown without their awareness by holding a pen in their mouth (either between their teeth without touching their teeth or between their lips without touching their teeth)
- then they rated how amused they were with a number of cartoons
- smiling condition found cartoons to be more amusing than the frowning condition
- emotions are influenced by the expressions of their faces
- display rules cannot be used to argue that emotions are experienced the same at the core universality and only their expression differs
Emotional intensity (1)
- in cultures where the expression of anger is problematic, people tend to experience anger less intensely and for a shorter period
Anger intensity study (4)
- Chinese Canadian and European Canadian participants were exposed to a rude and unprofessional experimenter while their blood pressure was being measured
- initial reaction: both groups responded with similar degrees of anger
- Chinese Canadian’s blood pressure returned to normal much faster
- they all suppressed their anger not expressed, this lead to a slower decrease for European Canadians but not Chinese Canadians
- East Asians seem to be more comfortable with strategies of suppressing their anger, while Westerners seem to suffer from physiological consequences of not being able to express it
Kinds of emotions in independent cultures (3)
- focus on personal differentiation and how events might distinguish one from others
- emotional states are intrapersonal states that lie within the individual
- kinds of emotions are thus interpersonally disengaged (proud, anger)
Kinds of emotions in interdependent cultures (3)
- focus on interpersonal harmony and how events affect close others as well and oneself
- emotions are interpersonal states that connect people to eachother
- kinds of emotions are thus interpersonally engaged (respect, shame)
Happiness and emotional experiences study (4)
- Japanese and American participants answered questions about their emotional experiences based on 2 dimensions: positive v negative, interpersonally engaged v disengaged
- these dimensions were then correlated with general positive feelings
- American: more positive interpersonally disengaged emotions were correlated with more positive feelings
-Japanese: more positive interpersonally engaged emotions were correlated with more positive feelings in general
Subjective wellbeing (2)
- the feeling of being satisfied with one’s life, studies reveal cultural variability in this
- many factors contribute i.e. income level, human rights protection
Factors that influence people’s judgments of life satisfaction (4)
- source of wellbeing
- personal theories: people have different theories about how happy they think they should feel
- positive emotions: have different consequences across cultures
- Ideal affect: the kinds positive emotions people desire varies
Wellbeing independent cultures
- Main source: positive feelings
- Personal theories: the more positive feelings the better
- Positive emotions: protect against depression
- Ideal affect: high arousal positive emotions (i.e. excitement)
Wellbeing interdependent cultures (4)
- Main source: appropriate role behaviours
- Personal theories: balance between positive and negative feelings
- Positive feelings: do not necessarily protect against depression
- Ideal affect: low arousal positive emotions (calm, peace)
Personal life satisfaction theories (5)
- European American and Asian American participants completed a questionnaire every day for a week about satisfaction (actual ratings)
- at the end of the week they were asked how satisfied they had been (retrospective ratings)
- European: retrospective ratings higher than actual
-Asian: similar ratings for both - European Americans seem to believe that life should be happy while Asian Americans believe life has a balance of positive and negative experiences
Universal appealing facial features (3)
- clear complexion: important indicator for good health
- facial symmetry: associated with developmental stability
- average size: less likelihood of genetic abnormalities and easier to process
Beautiful bodies (3)
- in contrast to faces, people are attracted to bodies that depart from average
- weight: the current Western idea of women being slim was not prevalent even a generation ago, and in many cultures a heavier body is ideal
- decoration: cultures vary in the way they decorate their bodies, exposure to Western ideals has a strong influence on people’s preferences because ideals in the West are seen as markers of high status
Propinquity effect (3)
- powerful universal phenomenon
- tendency for people to become close to those they encounter often and interact with frequently
- seems to be an accessibility universal and operates on the basis of the mere exposure effect
Similarity-attraction effect (3)
- cultural variation in this (weaker for Japanese than North Americans)
- tendency for people to be attracted to those more like themselves
- one of the most powerful and reliable predictors for the development of interpersonal relationships
Propinquity effect study
- new recruits of a police academy were lined up according to the alphabetical order of their names which also influenced where they sat and the location of their dorm rooms
- then they were asked to nominate their closest friends at the academy
- results showed a diagonal pattern indicating that alphabetical ordering played a large role in ppl’s