L6 Emotion is Cultural

Question 1

Are emotions the property of individuals at all?

Answer 1

Been argued that emotions are located between rather than inside people
Emotions extend towards others e.g. love and anger or contract from others e.g. desire or fear

Question 2

What can similarities in emotion in a group arise from?

Answer 2

Exposure to the same events
Mutual influence
Shared norms and values
Identifying with the group
Requirement to feel or express a particular emotion in the group

Question 3

What is intergroup emotion?

Answer 3

Emotions arising in one group that concern another group e.g. intergroup fear

Question 4

What is the intergroup emotion theory (Smith, 1993)?

Answer 4

Intergroup emotions are experienced by individuals when they identify with a social group, making the group part of the psychological self
The specific intergroup emotions depend on the perceived competence and warmth of the target group

Question 5

What do different levels of perceived competence and warmth elicit?

Answer 5

Low competence, low warmth elicits contempt (e.g. welfare recipients)
Low competence, high warmth elicits pity (e.g. elderly)
High competence, low warmth elicits envy (e.g. the rich)
High competence, high warmth elicits pride (e.g. emergency services)

Question 6

What can be seen surrounding prejudice and conflict between groups?

Answer 6

It may be possible to recast prejudice in terms of intergroup emotion i.e. not just attitudinal
Emotions posed for an in group are clearer so there is greater potential for misunderstanding with an out group
Conflict involve rejecting another group and protecting own group from contamination, so usually better understood in terms of disgust and contempt rather than anger

Question 7

What is collective guilt?

Answer 7

When individual thinks their group has done wrong to an out group but haven’t done it personally

Question 8

What do cultural approaches view emotion as?

Answer 8

Values and concepts about the self are expressed in rituals, practices and institutions - these shape how members of particular societies experience emotion
Language of the culture plays a part in shaping the experience too

Question 9

How are emotions social roles?

Answer 9

Some cultural approaches see that emotions are transitory roles that people play in order to fulfil culture-specific identities e.g. falling in love as a role that provides a transition between social relationships

Question 10

What is the cultural approach regarding being self-construal?

Answer 10

Can construe oneself as independent or interdependent

This maps onto individualistic and collectivist cultures

Question 11

What happens in an individualistic culture?

Answer 11

People may report being more emotional but the ANS may be the same
Emotions may be a stronger determinant of life satisfaction and the expression of happiness is associated with portraying success

Question 12

What happens in a collectivist culture?

Answer 12

People are more likely to mask positive and negative feelings
This can mean they have more impact when they are displayed
People exert greater control over negative emotions with in group members but less likely to smile at an out group member

Question 13

What are cultural differences in values of emotion?

Answer 13

Will be differences in the priority given to freedom, rights and equality
When a value is prioritised in a culture then emotions will relate to it
When monogamy is valued a lover will elicit jealousy and hatred but if it isn’t valued then those emotions are not elicited

Question 14

How are different cultures guided?

Answer 14

Applies to affect, behaviour and cognition
East asian culture guided by a dialectical system that accepts contradictions e.g. Japanese more likely than west europeans to report feeling positive and negative emotions at the same time

Question 15

What can be seen in cross-cultural comparisons of emotional expression?

Answer 15

Some cultures noticeably less expressive than others

Japanese and Americans show same expression to emotional stimulus if unobserved but different if observed

Question 16

What cultural differences are there in emotion recognition?

Answer 16

Universal recognition of basic emotion expressions but the accuracy declines with more distance from Anglo-American culture
Could be due to translation problems or because those emotions are rarely displayed
Happiness most consistently recognised across cultures

Question 17

What can be seen in emotion decoding across cultures?

Answer 17

Japanese rate the intensity of emotion as lower, but they compensate when rating the experience - because they follow cultural display rule than expression must be masked
Expressions are better interpreted by their own culture because rules are known

Question 18

What are the causes of emotion across cultures?

Answer 18

Situations that give rise to emotions may be universal
But interdependent cultures are more likely to experience positive emotions in social situations but independent cultures more likely to experience them in relation to person accomplishments

Question 19

How are responses to emotions different across cultures?

Answer 19

Expressing anger is associated with health risk in American samples but with reduced health risk in Japanese samples
May be due to source of anger

Question 20

What can be said about the subjective well-being of nations?

Answer 20

Material wealth of a nation appears to be an important determinant of the life satisfaction of its people but its not important in determining their daily emotions

Question 21

What is ethnography?

Answer 21

A method providing an in depth description of the social life as a culture

Question 22

What did Lutz (1988) find about happiness in pacific islanders?

Answer 22

Their most valued emotion was ‘fago’ which involves a mix of compassion, love and sadness
It was observed that the appropriate response to a little girl showing happiness was ‘song’ (justifiable anger) because her response was inappropriately carefree

Question 23

What has been found in sadness and grief across cultures?

Answer 23

There is considerable variation in how they display grief
Tahitians don’t display grief and use jokes instead
Crying varies across cultures from restrained to sobs and wails

Question 24

How is the historical method used?

Answer 24

Involves studying cultural artefacts such as books, letters, art, film in order to understand cultural meaning and cultural shifts

Question 25

What is the history of fear?

Answer 25

Studied advice manuals for parents across 100 years

Fear was more accepted prior to 1900 but was then seen as something to be managed

Question 26

What is the history of cheerfulness?

Answer 26

In 18th century Europe, fashion for melancholy, public crying
This declined as individual agency gained value
Now a moral duty to stay happy
Cheerfulness promoted in the workplace

Question 27

How can cultural differences be sustained?

Answer 27

By emotion regulation processes
Situations and appraisals consistent with cultural values are promoted by:
- Individual tendencies e.g. Americans more likely to select situations that promote success
- Co-regulation within relationships
- Structure of daily life

Question 28

What has been said about expression of emotions in drama, rituals and art?

Answer 28

These cultural forms allow us to experience emotions at an aesthetic distance
They cue our own memories of emotions and allow us to assimilate them
Allow us to engage with negative emotions safely

Question 29

What changes can be seen in emotions in books?

Answer 29

Has been a decrease in the use of emotion-related words

Question 30

What are the 5 main approaches to sociology of emotion?

Answer 30

1. Dramaturgical - concerned with emotions of impression management
2. Symbolic interactionist - concerned with self and identity as central motives that influence emotion
3. Interaction ritual - concerned with emotions in rituals
4. Power and status - concerned with effects of power and status of an emotion
5. Exchange - concerned with costs and investments in obtaining resources, exchanges generate emotions