Transcript Jkjk

Psychology 307: Cultural Psychology
Emotions
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Emotion
1. What are emotions?
2. What is the universalist vs. cultural constructionist
debate regarding emotions?
3. What evidence provides support for the universalist
position?
4. What evidence provides support for the cultural
constructionist position?
5. Can the universalist vs. cultural constructionist
debate be resolved?
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What are emotions?
● Although there has been disagreement among
psychologists regarding how best to define
emotions, most believe that emotions consist of at
least 2 components: a physiological component and a
subjective component.
● Many psychologists also believe that emotions
consist of a third component: a cognitive component.
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● There are 2 major theories of emotion:
1. James-Lange theory of emotion
 Proposed by William James and Carl Lange in
the late 1800s.
 Suggests that the physiological changes that
occur in response to antecedent events produce
emotions.
 According to this view, “we feel sorry because we
cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we
tremble” (James, 1884).
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James-Lange Theory of Emotion
Physiological
changes: Heart
pounding,
trembling,
sweating,
running away
Antecedent
event: Seeing an
angry dog
Emotion felt:
Fear
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 On the basis of this theory, Tomkins (1963)
proposed the facial feedback hypothesis.
 Although some studies have provided support for
the facial feedback hypothesis, in particular, and the
James-Lange theory, in general, many researchers
have criticized the theory.
 In light of these criticisms, the James-Lange theory
has fallen out of favor with many psychologists.
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2. Two-factor theory of emotion
 Proposed by Stanley Schachter and Jerome
Singer in the 1960s.
 Suggests that the physiological changes that occur
in response to antecedent events and our cognitive
appraisals of those events produce emotions.
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Two-Factor Theory of Emotion
Physiological
changes: Heart
pounding,
trembling,
sweating,
running away
+
Antecedent
event: Seeing an
angry dog
Cognitive
appraisal: That
is an angry dog,
it is going to
attack me.
Emotion felt:
Fear
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 Substantial evidence has provided support for the
two-factor theory. The bulk of this evidence comes
from studies in which experimenters have
manipulated participants’ physiological arousal and
examined their appraisals of that arousal.
 Example: Dutton and Aron, 1974, Capilano
Suspension Bridge study.
 In light of the evidence that has accumulated to
support the two-factor theory, this theory is the most
widely accepted theory of emotion today.
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What is the universalist vs. cultural constructionist
debate regarding emotions?
● Universalist position:
 emotions are experienced similarly across cultures.
 common emotions have evolved among humans
because they serve adaptive functions.
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● Cultural constructionist position:
 emotions are experienced differently across
cultures.
 emotions are largely determined by our appraisals
of antecedent events.
● Research evidence provides support for both
positions.
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What evidence provides support for the univeralist
position?
● Four types of evidence support the universalist
position on emotion:
(a) Evidence for the universality of emotional antecedents
 Emotional antecedents: Events that elicit emotion.
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 Example: Brandt and Boucher (1985)
 Recruited informants from the U.S., Korea, and
Samoa.
 Informants wrote stories about events that
produced anger, disgust, fear, happiness,
sadness, or surprise.
 Stories were administered to participants in
the U.S., Korea, and Samoa, who identified the
predominant emotion of the individual in the
story.
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 Found:
(i) substantial agreement in the assignment of
emotions to stories across cultures.
(ii) participants’ accuracy was not greater for
stories generated by informants from their
own culture than stories generated by
informants from other cultures.
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(b) Evidence for the universality of physiological
responses associated with emotions
 Example: Scherer and Wallbott (1994)
 Recruited participants from 37 countries (e.g.,
Australia, Botswana, Chile, El Salvador, Finland,
France, Germany, Guatemala, Japan, Lebanon,
Portugal, U.S., Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe).
 Had participants recall situations in which they
experienced joy, anger, fear, sadness, disgust,
shame, or guilt.
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 For each situation, asked participants to respond
to questions assessing their physiological
responses to the situation.
 Participants were presented with three types of
physiological responses:
1. Ergotropic responses.
2. Trophotropic responses.
3. Felt temperature responses:
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 Found that, across cultures, each emotion was
associated with similar physiological responses.
E.g.,
Anger: Associated with relatively high levels of
ergotropic responses, relatively low levels of
trophotropic responses, and the sensation of being
hot.
Sadness: Associated with relatively low levels of
ergotropic responses, relatively high levels of
trophotropic responses and the sensation of being
cold.
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(c) Evidence for the universality of emotional appraisal
 Emotional appraisal: Process by which
individuals evaluate the antecedent events or
stimuli that elicit emotions.
 Example: Scherer et al., 1997
 Proposed the Stimulus Evaluation Check (SEC)
Model of Emotional Appraisal.
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 According to this model, emotional appraisal of
antecedent events occurs in the form of a series of
“stimulus evaluation checks.” Antecedent events
are evaluated along 8 dimensions:
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Scherer et al.’s (1997) Emotional Appraisal Dimensions
Expectation
Did you expect the event to occur?
Pleasantness
Did you find the event pleasant of unpleasant?
Goal conduciveness
Did the event help or hinder you in the
achievement of your goals?
Fairness
Was the event unjust or unfair?
Causation
Who caused the event—you, someone else,
or an “impersonal agent?”
Coping ability
Were you able to cope effectively with the
event and its consequences?
Morality
Was your behaviour in relation to the event
improper or immoral?
Self-consistency
Did the event have a positive or negative
influence on your self-worth?
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 Recruited participants from 37 countries (e.g.,
Austria, Botswana, Brazil, China, Finland, Greece,
Honduras, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon,
Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Zambia).
 Had participants recall situations in which they
experienced joy, anger, fear, sadness, disgust,
shame, or guilt.
 For each situation, asked participants to respond
to questions assessing each of the 8 appraisal
dimensions identified by the SEC Model.
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 Found that, across cultures, each emotion was
produced by a similar appraisal process.
E.g.,
Joy: Elicited by events that were appraised as high
in expectedness, pleasantness, goal conduciveness,
and fairness; for which participants felt they had
coped effectively, behaved morally, and experienced
an increase in self-worth.
Anger: Elicited by events that were appraised as low
in expectedness, pleasantness, goal conduciveness,
and fairness; that participants believed were caused
by others or an impersonal agent.
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(d) Evidence for the universality of emotional expression
 Cross-cultural studies:
 Have shown that, across diverse cultures,
people create similar facial expressions when
they experience happiness, anger, disgust, fear,
sadness, or surprise.
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 Example: Ekman and Friesen (1971)
 Took posed photos of facial expressions reflecting
happiness, anger, disgust, fear, sadness, and
surprise.
 Showed the photos to participants in 5 countries:
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Japan, and the U.S.
 Asked participants to select the emotional label
that best described the individual in each photo.
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Ekman and Friesen’s (1971) Six Emotional
Expressions
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Percentage of Participants Who Correctly
Identified Each Emotion
Country
Happiness
Anger
Disgust
Fear
Sadness
Surprise
Argentina
94
72
79
68
85
93
Brazil
97
82
86
77
82
82
Chile
90
76
85
78
90
88
Japan
87
63
82
71
74
87
U.S.
97
69
82
88
73
91
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 Found that:
(a) the rate of correct identification was high across
cultural groups.
(b) when the six emotions were combined, there
were no significant differences across cultural
groups.
 These findings were replicated among the Fore of
New Guinea.
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 On the basis of these findings, Ekman concluded that
there are 6 emotions for which there are universal
facial expressions (i.e., “basic emotions”):
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Emotion
Associated Facial Expression
Anger
Both the lower and upper eyelids tighten as the brows lower and
draw together. Intense anger raises the upper eyelids as well.
The jaw thrusts forward, the lips press together, and the lower
lip may push up a little.
Fear
The eyes widen and the upper lids rise, as in surprise, but the
brows draw together. The lips stretch horizontally.
Disgust
The nose wrinkles and the upper lip rises while the
lower lip protrudes.
Surprise
The upper eyelids and brows rise, and the jaw drops open.
Happiness
The corners of the mouth lift in a smile. As the eyelids tighten,
the cheeks rise and the outside corners of the brows pull down.
Sadness
The eyelids droop as the inner corners of the brows rise and, in
extreme sadness, draw together. The corners of the lips pull
down, and the lower lip may push up in a pout.
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Ekman and Friesen’s (1971) Six Emotional
Expressions
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 More recent work by Ekman suggests that there is
a 7th emotion for which there is a universal facial
expression:
Emotion
Associated Facial
Expression
_________
This expression
appears on just one
side of the face: One
half of the upper lip
tightens upward.
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 Developmental studies:
 Have shown that:
(a) newborn infants possess the same facial
musculature as adults.
(b) the facial musculature of infants is fully
functional at birth.
(c) infants display facial expressions similar to
those that adults display when they
experience happiness, anger, disgust, fear,
sadness, and surprise.
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Examples of Infant Facial Expressions
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 At birth, infants are capable of producing facial
expressions that display disgust and happiness.
At 2 months, infants are capable of producing
facial expressions that display anger and sadness.
At 6 months, infants are capable of producing
facial expressions that display fear and surprise.
 Infants’ ability to produce facial expressions
similar to those of adults appears to be culturally
universal.
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What evidence provides support for the cultural
constructionist position?
● Two types of evidence support the cultural
constructionist position on emotion:
(a) Evidence for the cultural construction of emotional
expression: Display rules
 According to Ekman (1973), display rules dictate
how universal emotions are expressed, are learned
early in life, and become automatic determinants of
emotional expression by adulthood.
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 Ekman and Freisen (1969) identified 6 display
rules: Amplification, deamplification, neutralization,
qualification, masking, and simulation.
 Researchers have examined cultural differences
in the tendencies to amplify, deamplify, neutralize,
qualify, mask, and simulate emotional expression.
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 Example: Matsumoto et al. (2005)
 Developed the Display Rule Assessment
Inventory (DRAI) to assess the extent to which
participants modify their emotional expressions
in diverse social situations (e.g., with family,
close friends, colleagues, strangers).
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Sample Response Sheet from the DRAI
Instructions: Please tell us what you think people
should do when they feel each of the emotions listed
toward someone in each of the four situations when
interacting with that person. At the top of the page is a
list of seven possible responses for how one may
behave in those situations. Please select a response
for each emotion and each situation. Record that
number in the appropriate space provided for that
emotion and situation.
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Possible responses:
1. Express the feeling as is with no inhibitions.
2. Express the feeling, but with less intensity than one's
true feelings.
3. Express the feeling, but with more intensity than one's
true feelings.
4. Try to remain neutral; express nothing.
5. Express the feeling, but together with a smile to qualify
one's feelings.
6. Smile only, with no trace of anything else, in order to
hide one's true feelings.
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Recording sheet:
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 Recruited participants from Japan, Russia, and
the U.S.
 Found that:
(a) the American participants had higher
expression and amplification scores than the
Japanese and Russian participants.
(b) the Japanese participants had higher
deamplification and qualification scores than
the American and Russian participants.
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 Consistent with these findings, Matsumoto et al.
(1998) found that the tendency to “control”
emotional expression through the use of
deamplification, neutralization, qualification, and
masking was positively correlated with collectivism.
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Sponge Bob
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Hello Kitty
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 In addition, Matsumoto et al. (1998) found that
in collectivistic cultures, the tendency to control
the expression of negative emotions (e.g.,
anger) was greatest when interacting with
ingroup members (e.g., family). In contrast, in
individualistic cultures, the tendency to control the
expression of negative emotions was greatest
when interacting with outgroup members (e.g.,
strangers).
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 Notably, research suggests that when individuals
control the expression of emotion through
deamplification, neutralization, qualification, and
masking, the subjective experience of the emotion
is dampened.
Thus, people living in cultures that promote the
control of emotional expression tend to report fewer
and less intense emotional experiences than people
living in cultures that promote emotional expression.
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(b) Evidence for the cultural construction of emotional
states: Emotional lexicon
 Analyses of diverse languages suggest that
different languages recognize different emotions.
 Although some languages have equivalent terms
for all of the “universal” emotions identified by
Ekman, other languages do not.
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Languages in Which Terms for Ekman’s
“Universal” Emotions Do Not Exist
Emotion
Languages in Which an Equivalent Term Does Not Exist
Anger
Overlaps with sadness or grief in Luganda, Illongot,
and Ifaluk.
Fear
Missing in Ifaluk; overlaps with shame in Gidjingali.
Disgust
Missing in Polish, Ifaluk, and Chewong; overlaps with
hate in Samoan.
Surprise
Missing in Fore, Dani, Malay, and Ifaluk.
Happiness
Missing in Chewong.
Sadness
Missing in Tahitian and Chewong, overlaps with anger in
Luganda, Illongot, and Ifaluk.
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 Moreover, there are emotional terms in some
languages for which an equivalent term does
not exist in English.
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Emotional Terms for Which an Equivalent
Term Does Not Exist in English
Language
Emotional Term
Description of Emotion
Czech
Litost
Grief, sympathy, remorse, longing, “torment
caused by a sudden insight into one’s own
miserable self” (Kundera, 1979).
German
Schadenfreude
Pleasure derived from another’s
displeasure.
Japanese
Amae
Pleasure derived from dependence on a
close other.
Javanese
Iklas
Pleasant or indifferent frustration
!Kung
Kua
A combination of awe, respect, and fear
associated with ceremonially recognized
milestones in one’ life.
Samoan
Lotomaualalo
An absence of malice, anger, or resentment
in situations of potential conflict.
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 Some theorists argue that the diversity of
emotional terms across languages is meaningless
because language does not influence our
experience of emotion.
 In contrast, other theorists argue that the diversity of
emotional terms across languages indicates that
there is significant cultural variation in the
experience of emotion. This view is consistent with
the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.
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Can the universalist vs. cultural constructionist debate
be resolved?
 Although some researchers adhere to the
universalist position on emotions and other
researchers adhere to the cultural constructionist
position on emotions, there are an increasing number
of researchers who recognize that the two positions
are not mutually exclusive.
 Their views are consistent with the Neurocultural
Theory of Emotional Expression, first proposed by
Ekman in the 1970’s.
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 According to this theory:
“Universality may be limited to a rather small set of
basic emotions, which serve as platforms for
interactions with learned rules, social norms, and
shared social scripts, resulting in a myriad of more
complex culture-specific emotions.” Matsumoto
(2004, p. 259)
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Emotion
1. What are emotions?
2. What is the universalist vs. cultural constructionist
debate regarding emotions?
3. What evidence provides support for the universalist
position?
4. What evidence provides support for the cultural
constructionist position?
5. Can the universalist vs. cultural constructionist
debate be resolved?
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