PSYC 307 Lecture 22-24 Emotions

what are emotional antecendents and how do they demonstrate emotional universality?

- any events that elicit certain emotions - do see lots of overlap across cultures in which antecendents lead to specific emotions - eg. exp grief/loss is often assoc w sadness, exp injustice tends to produce anger, threats tend to elicit fear - see same antecendents leading to the same emotional outcomes even in cultures w very little Western influence

what are the 6 different display rules?

- 6 different display rules: 1. amplification 2. deamplification 3. neutralization 4. qualification 5. masking 6. simulation

what is the variability of the consequences of positive and negative emotions across cultures?

- Asians make decisions based on practical reasons, utility while Euros make decisions for happiness, fun - Asians don't seem to exp same benefits of happy emotions as Weesterners > eg. offers no protectoin from depression - also don't see same assoc w negative emotions and bad mental health outcomes in Russians who are more common to reflect and ruminate on their emotions as we see in self-reflective Americans

what are emotions?

- a combo of psych and physio states in response to some stimulus that creates an emotional reaction > psych includes: a) subjective component = exp of feeling happy, sad b) cognitive component = specific thoughts attached to diff emotions > physio = diff reactions our body gives due to diff stimuli - examine through 2 primary theories: 1. James-Lange 2. two-factor

what are appraisal theories?

- allow for universality in biological features - also provides room for culturaly variability to play a role - argue cultural variability comes from interpretations, appraisals that yield diffs across cultures and indivs

what is the two-factor theory of emotion?

- argues we also don't passively interpret emotions - rather, we interpret our situations that influence our emo exp > physio changes + cognitive appraisals = emotions - stimulus -> physio changes + cognitive appraisal -> emotion => behaviour - eg. bear -> heart rate increases, trembling, sweating + omg an angry bear is chasing me -> fear

what are some problems with the James-Lange theory of emotion?

- assume that all emotions have a unique set of physio changes where each emotion word describes a diff bodily state - eg. anger vs. anxiety - BUT in reality our physio responses don't always match up w a specific unique emotion - eg. heart rate increases, trembling, sweating could also be bc of anxiety, fear, excitement, love - same set of physio changes can code for a range of emotions

how does the type of emotion affect the influence of culture on emotion?

- basic emotions and guilt/shame - most cultures will exp, but there are also culturally based emotions that are more subject to the impact of culture (eg. schadenfreude) - less rooted in survivial functions (unlike basic emotions) and more on socialization - so culture plays a stronger role on these culturally-based emotions

what are the physiological responses associated with emotions? how do they demonstrate emotional universality?

- can divide up into: 1. ergotropic - physio responses based on actions of the sympathetic nervous system (get u ready for fight/flight) => expend energy - eg. increase cardio activity, prime muscles for activity, sweating 2. trophotropic - opposite to ergotrophic - physio responses based on actions of the parasympathetic nervous system (rest/digest) => calming down, relaxing muscles, release tension - think paramedics trying to calm u down - eg. gastric disturbances, crying and sobbing (get rid of built up tension) 3. felt temperature - body temp feels diff depending on emotion felt, even tho physical body temp remains the same - body feels hotter, just right, or colder bc of emotions - eg. anger is assoc w higher ergotropic responses, lower trophotropic & hot felt temperature "hot w rage" - sadness is assoc w lower ergotropic responses, higher trophotropic responses & cold felt temperature

how does one's cultural identification affect the influence of culture on emotion?

- component of the individual that contributes to complexity of emotions - eg. 90 day fiance "I'm an American that does American things!" -> less willing to abide by cultural norms in India, less willing to recognize cultural cues - not identifying strongly w a certain cultural environment will limit that - affected by culture

what is emotional expression and how does it demonstrate emotional universality?

- decent cross-cultural recognition rates of the same emotions: happy, angry, surprised, sad, fear, disgust - appear to be reflexive and see the expressions in infants that haven't been socialized - also observe in cultures w zero Western contact - seem to originate from a shared biology - contempt is shown in the slide picture - some suggest contempt, shame, pride (but this involves the whole body), and interest might also be basic emotions

what is emotional complexity?

- diff components of emotional complexity - diff aspects of emotion, types of emotion, diff emotional contexts - indiv is important too - impact of culture on emotions varies depending on component of emotional complexity

how does emotional lexicon vary across cultures?

- emotional lexicon = words we have for diff emotions we exp - some langs have unique words for emotions that don't exist > eg. schadenfreude in German (glee from pranking someone) - there aren't clear names for all the basic emotions in all languages > some cross-cultural disagreemnet on what basic emotions are - also have variety of # emotion words across cultures, where English has much more than some other langs - some ppl debate on whether the diffs in emotional lexicon make a meaningful diff for our emotional exp - Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (linguistic relativity): - hard version argues that language determines how we think & our exp -> don't buy into this anymore X - soft version: language affects how we think, but is not deterministic - language helps us think ab and articuale ideas and our exp - without certain words, it hinders ability to discuss exp - this is still under debate acc. to the text > eg. colours: Ben sees slight colour diffs in the tarte lipsticks but wouldn't know how to describe this "warmer/cooler tone?"

what is historical heterogeneity?

- even broader than the biocultural model - pretend there's a country in the world w a population of ppl coming in from diff countries -> lots of heterogeneity! - there's another country w v little influx of ppl from other places -> v homogeneous - historical heterogeneity = extent to which a country's moderm pop comes from migration from other countries in the last 500 y - low hh: country's present-day pop is from its own country from 500 y ago (or v little other countries) - high hh = present pop comes from many other countries from 500 y ago

what did Gendron, Roberson, van der Vyver & Barrett show about the universality of emotions?

- even with basic emotions, captures many diff things - can talk ab multiple components (emotional lexicon, expressions) contributing to cultural variability - all things combine to lead to cultural variability in emotions - objective: - had idea that prev. research on basic emotions had lot to do w ppl given pre-existing labels - what if ppl are primed to think ab specific emotions and that's why we see similarities? - contrasted responses from Himba ethnic group from Namibia to USA - methods: - participants did either "anchored" sort task (put pics of diff emotions in bins w labels) or free sort task (6 unlabelled boxes and given freedom to categorize pics) - results: - Americans: - anchored sort task adhered to 6 basic emotions - but free label got kinda messy, only fear and happy were the same had some unlabelled categories - Namibia: - anchored task and free sort are both hella messy - concluscions: - even the 6 basic emotions weren't "universal"

what is the variability in ideal affect across cultures?

- ideal affect = feelings/emotions people want to have and will structure their lives to maximize - ideal affect for Westerners are high arousal pos emotions, but Asians puruse low arousal pos feelings (more quiet, calm) > also see this diff in Christian vs. Buddhist religious practices and the leisure these diff cultures engage in

what are evolutionary theories of emotion?

- imply universality of emotions across cultures + species - emotions are innate, automatic responses tied to nervous system - culture doesn't play an important role in emotions - some argue physio changes are antecendents to emotions, not consequences - physio changes -> emotions - eg. the James-Lange theory of emotion

what is the variability the relationship between happiness and subjective well-being across cultures?

- in Western culture, happiness is linked to a better life - v valued, pursuit of happiness is an American right - only after the Enlightenment was happiness seen as smth an indiv could achieve and not just good luck -> what most other global cultures believe - ppl in countires that define happiness partly as luck report being less happy - subjective well-being = feeling of satisfaction w one's life > English-speaking countries > impoverished countries in Africa + South Asia - culturally consistent that SWB depends on income esp. in countries where basic needs aren't easily met, human right protection, equality, ppl follow the law, less corruption - but have some outliers for unknown reasons - ppl in independent sc countries's SWB is more dependent on their own pos emotions - interdependent ppl's SWB relies more on adhering to cultural norms and being respected by others - Euro ppl rmb their life as more pos than it actually was while Asians were more accurate - reflects that Euros believe life should be overall happy while Asians think it's a balance between happy and sad, can exp mixed emotions which shows their dialectical view - but if recalling feelings at a specific concrete time, won't see these cultural diffs

what is the variability of the kinds of emotions across cultures?

- independent SC will interpret situations to give opp to distinguish themselves from others > eg. Americans more likely to exp situations that lead to anger, not shame - exp as personal states within an indiv - also feel better when feeling emotions that distinguish themselves from others > stronger link between general pos emo + pos interpersonally disengaged emo - interdependent SC will interpret situations to provide opp to affect relationship w others - have emotions related to relationship w a larger group > eg. defending honour in Turkey // maintaining face for Japanese => anger and shame are more exp in Turkey // shame is more common in Japan - exp as interpersonal states that connect ppl w each other - feel better when focusing on emo exp that connect them to others > stronger link between general pos emo and pos interpersonally engaged emo

what is the variability of emotional intensity across cultures? how does this relate to health outcomes?

- individualistic cultures report attending to their emotions more and feeling emotions longer, more intensely than collectivistic ones - seems deamplifying and masking display rules in Asians is assoc w them experiencing less and less intense emotions > could be better for the group in interdependent cultures - suppressing emotions is bad for cardio health, but that's not what Asians do: Chinese are harder to anger and will reappraise the situation in a less angry way/distract selves - Euro feel more anger and wanna express it openly - Chinese and Euro both have same initial physio anger response but Chinese return to baseline much quicker when suppressing anger - Euro have -ve physio response from not being able to express anger, linked w poor healht outcomes - but expressing pos emotions also benefits health for Westerners, while Asians don't show this link - see that the connection between expression of intense emo and health is stronger in Western cultures

walk through an example of the biocultural model of emotion

- input: bridge is collapsing - threatening appraisal: this is terrifying and I'm gonna die - core system: starts pumping adrenaline to increase heart rate and make scared facial expressions => both create a subjective exp of fear - display/feeling rules will govern the final emotion, eg. rules ab how intensely u'll feel smth - ppl can detect heart rate thru monitors - if change stimulus to a roller coaster - similar exp but have a safety net and more fun controlled context - more positive appraisal: scary but having a lot of fun - instead of fear, might feel more joy instead - facial expression is joy - subjective exp is joy - autonomic is not v influenced by culture - subjective exp rly is - facial exp is kind of

what are the 3 lines of evidence for amotional variability?

- lots of evidence for emotional universality - but more complex and can expect emotional variability 1. variability of emotional expression 2. variability of the emotional information gathering process 3. variability of emotional lexicon

what are low and high context cultures?

- low hh yields more certainty in the customs, values and beliefs - allows for having more implicit understanding of other ppl - don't need to be as obvious and just understand what other ppl are thinking w less explicit info - characterizes high context cultures = rely on contextual cues - high hh yields more uncertainty in comm emotional states - req more explicity comm to understand each other and effectively co-operate w others - leads to low context cultures = comm ppl engage in is more obvious and doesn't rely on contextual cues

what is the James-Lange theory of emotion?

- more basic - antecendent event (creates emo responses) ----> physio changes/responses that result --recognize what these physio changes are--> then label them which allows us to feel emotions - without these physio changes, we'd be in a pure, cold inhuman state

how does historical heterogeneity affect emotional expressivity?

- ppl from high hh countries overexpress to overcome the ambiguity in interactions w ppl of diff cultures - facial expressions and body lang becomes more exaggerated - produce emotional expressions are more accurately perceived by others, even outside of that country > shows adaptation was successful, allows emo states to be expressed - explains emotional expressions beyond individualism/collectivism > refreshing explanation

what is emotional appraisal and how does it demonstrate emotional universality?

- ppl go thru process of stimulus evaluation checks = appraising antecedents along several dimensions 1. expectation: was the event expected/unexpected? 2. pleasantness: did u find the event pleasant/unpleasant? 3. fairness: was the event just/unjust? - eg. anger assoc w lower expectedness, low pleasantness, and low fairness - joy is more assoc w either high/lower expectedness, high pleasantness, high fairness -> these assoc are pretty universal

what are the implications of the James-Lange theory of emotion?

- regards physio responses as a product of our autonomic/sympathetic NS - completely automatic, no control over ANS - designed to throw body into a state where we can engage in survival behav - eg. face a bear --> heart rate increases, trembling, sweating --recognize these as fear responses -> fear => run away! - but don't do this bc running away from bears is silly

what is the variability of emotional information gathering process?

- rmb the fundamental attribution error = tend to draw internal attributions ab indiv behav and underestimate the effect of context, external attributions are minimized - and rmb that holistic cultures tend to focus more on contexts - ppl more analytic thinking style will focus more on personality - see diffs manifest in visual tracking process - easiest way to figure out someone's emotions are to look at their face - but also rely on other cues like - found in eye tracking studies that interdependent bg pay more attention to environmental cues to see how a person feels > see wider range of viewing around the person - independent bg pay more attention to the person > smaller range of eye tracking, don't look as much at the surroundings

how does the emotional context affect the influence of culture on emotion?

- see diff cues for emotional expressions around the enviro - eg. don't wanna laugh and be cheerful at a funeral where everyone's crying - depends on culture! - bc relies on type of social cues the culture around u is giving

what is the biocultural model of emotion?

- similar structure to the Van De Weber's model of emotion - core system receives input in the form of an event - but appraise these events in particular ways to us > will vary widely across ppl > what parts of the event pass thru the appraisal filter will get recognized by the core system - process in the middle is called the core system = biological system > constantly scanning enviro for info that matches pre-set situations in our mind that we come pre-programmed w > like schemas we're born w > eg. getting someone we like is assoc w - core system then triggers certain response tendencies: - facial tendencies > these will engage once core system is activated - autonomic responses > eg. galvanic skin response, fear response - both facial expressoins and autonomic responses will feed into the subjective experience - then response tendencies lead to display/feeling rules which leaks into the public

what is the evidence for the variability of emotional expression?

- smaller influence from culture than the large universal component of recognizing facial expressions - when ppl share the same ethnicity, having a diff nationality makes a pronounced phys expression of the same emotions - 9% more accurate judging within own culture vs. another culture bc have most exposure/familiarity -> can tell just from the eyes - eg. comparing smiles of more Westernized Jennifer Lee (sociologist) and Asian celeb are v diff, even tho both show happiness - can also recognize higher status' ppl's emotions better - bc of display rules = culturally specific rules that govern what emotions are appropriate, how much u can express certain emotions - even sometimes creates "ritualised displays" = facial expression only found in some cultures and not others > eg. tongue bite = embarrassment in India - learned earliy in life and become automatic by adulthood - indicate that underlying feelings can be similar, but ppl of diff cultures will vary in how much they express certain emotions - countries w more heterogeneous history of immigration -> low-context culture tend to be more emotionally expressive

what is the variability of display rules across cultures?

- tend to see more deamplification, masking, neutralization, and qualification in East Asian-Collectivistic cultures - see more amplification in South American-Collectivism/Individualism - easier to get everyone involved in an emotion like happiness ure expressing if it's more exaggerated

how does the aspects of emotion affect the influence of culture on emotion?

- when an emotion is high intensity, it floods the system - makes it harder to control the emotion - therefore, culture doesn't play a role in intense emotions

how do the two different theories of emotion predict cultural universality/variability?

1. James-Lange - predicts emotions should be universal bc of physio similarities of all humans - bc suggests these played an imp role in survival and originated from evolution 2. two-factor theory of emotion - emotions should vary across cultures - bc diff cultural exp would lead us to have diff interpretations of psych exp

what is amplification?

1. amplification = express an emotion more intensely than how u actually feel - exaggerate it

what are the four lines of evidence showing emotional universality?

1. emotional antecendents 2. physio responses assoc. with emotion 3. emotional appraisal 4. emotional expression

what are the 2 primary perspectives on emotion?

1. evolutionary theories 2. appraisal theories

what is deamplification?

2. deamplification = expressing an emotion less intensely than what's truly felt - dampen it down if emotion is threatening - eg. don't wanna rage out but just let person know ure a lil upset

what is neutralization?

3. neutralization = express nothing even tho genuinely exp an emotion - completely poker face - might neutralize again bc emotion might be too threatening to others

what is qualification?

4. qualification = displaying an emotion w another, usually blended at the same time to qualify one's emotions - might be uncomfortable to express a particular emotion, so can soften the impact by inserting another one into the expression - eg. common in Japan to see someone's eyes be sad but have happy face -> nigawarai :'D when telling u not to do smth but trying not to be rude - seen thru exp where Japanese were more influenced by looking at top half of photos seeing ppl's eyes whereas Americans judgements were more based on ppl's mouths

what is masking?

5. masking = displaying some other emotion than what is truly felt - eg. if we're feeling happy but someone around us is sad, we'll pretend to be sad too - or v common when we're looking at ppl w clinical depression, will mask their true sadness - can see thru their mask by looking at their eyes bc these muscles are harder to control - but if u know the person is genuine it's easier to identify their feelings by looking at their mouth

what is simulation?

6. simulation = when u feel nothing (emotion-neutral) but display an emotion - eg. u don't care about ur friend's job but pretend to be happy for them and say congrats even tho ure neutral - opposite of neutralization