Lecture 6: Emotions

Question 1

universality thesis of facial expressions

Answer 1

arised due to research in 1969-1975 -> small scale societies in Pacific -> not exposed to Western norms, correctly matched configurations of facial movements to emotions stories

weakness: limited response options

Question 2

how did findings from 2008 change the perception of facial expression universality?

Answer 2

more small scale societies included (African, South American countries)

strengths: increased diversity in ecological and social contexts + more flexibility in response options

making sense of facial expressions in terms of action identification

affect concepts may be universally perceived
however, emotions concept may vary cross-culturally

people don’t always infer mental causes of facial movements (mentalizing)

Question 3

What part of facial expressions seems to be universally perceived?

Answer 3

valence -> pleasent/unpleasent

arousal -> high/low

Question 4

mentalizing

Answer 4

infering specific mental features (such as fear) from facial expressions

-> emphasis on unobservable mental causes of movements

Question 5

action identification

Answer 5

making sense of facial expressions in terms of behaviors (looking, smelling)

-> emphasis on function of behaviors

Question 6

Where cultural variation is pleasent in emotional research?

Answer 6

emotional experiences, emotion words, subjective well-being and happiness

Question 7

About what couples with different cultural backgrounds may disagree on?

Answer 7

-> stimulus -> what causes emotional reactions?
-> appraisal -> different interpretations of situations
-> action readiness -> internal feeling of wanting to do sth
-> physiological response
-> emotion words characteristic to language of origin
-> emotional behavior

Question 8

evolutionary approach to emotions

Answer 8

James Lange Theory of Emotions -> our body responds to environmental stimuli by preparing us to react in order to survive

emotions = bodily cues that signal how we should behave

Question 9

social constructionist approach to emotions

Answer 9

Walter Cannon - argued that autonomic nervous system is too clumsy and slow to differentiate between all emotional states

argues that emotions are based on physiological responses + interpretation of those responses (multi-component factor)

emotional are highly variable and contextualised responses -> more social approach: what kinds of situations are understood in what way?

Question 10

study - ephedrine shot

Answer 10

participants received shot of ephedrine which lead to strong physiological arousal

different situational cues:
euphoria condition -> nice confederate
anger condition -> rude confederate

when participants were not informed that they received the drug, they interpreted their arousal according to situational cues

showcasing that emotions depend on interpretations of physiological responses

Question 11

Do facial expressions have evolutionary advantage?

Answer 11

disgust -> nostrils constricted -> harder to breathe in -> protection from toxic fumes

anger -> brow furrows -> protection from potential blows

Paul Ekman -> studies in New Guinea - high agreement in emotional recognition (except for surprise and sadness)

Question 12

What emotion is recognized cross-culturally?

Answer 12

happiness

may be due to the fact that it primarily codes valence

Question 13

display rules

Answer 13

culturally specific rules that govern which facial expressions are appropriate in given situation and how intensly they should be exhibited

examples:
Bali -> avoiding strong emotional displays
Utku Inuit -> expressions of anger absent (hostile environment - need for collaboration)
USA -> upregulation of happiness
Arab context -> honor

Question 14

Do display rules affect emotions?

Answer 14

facial feedback hypothesis: facial expressions are one source of information we use when we infer emotional experiences

people were asked to put pen between their lips (contracting eyebrows -> anger) vs to put pen between their teeth (smiling)

cartoons were rated as funnier when participants were smiling

also botox injections make people slowe at reading emotional content

Question 15

ingroup advantage

Answer 15

more accurate recognition of emotions within the same culture/language group (9% above the 58% accuracy average)

Question 16

What are problems with paradigms asking people to match facial expressions to emotions?

Answer 16

1) no context -> context imapcts how you interpret emotion
2) forced choices
3) answers teach emotional concepts - via repeated trials people get an idea how they should respond

Question 17

emotional experience of independent self

Answer 17

personal differentiation

concerned about how events might distinguish one from others

emotions are considered intrapersonal states that lie within the individual

different kinds of emotions common! -> interpersonally disengaged emotions -> proud, anger

Question 18

emotional experience of interdependent self

Answer 18

interpersonal harmony

concerned about how events affect close others as well as onself

emotions are considered interpersonal states that connect people

different kinds of emotions common! -> interpersonally engaged -> respect, shame

Question 19

why is it hard for Japanese people to indicate how they would feel in certain situations?

Answer 19

because the descriptions of situation do not contain information how others are feeling

Question 20

Do people experience emotions not relevant to their self concept?

Answer 20

for interdependent self, anger is not essential experience

on average Chinese Canadians found scenarios less anger provoking; also systolic blood pressure (arousal) drops quicker for them
-> weaker emotional experience

whereas European Canadians were more prone to outwardly express anger

Question 21

emotion words

Answer 21

culturally specific

schadenfreude (German) → joy when bad things happen to sb else who deserved it

amae (Japan) -> sweet dependence

iklas (Japan) -> pleasant feeling of frustration

Question 22

ideal affect

Answer 22

desired feelings/emotions

although happiness is recognized universally, it doesn’t mean that people are happy about the same types of things

Question 23

subjective well being of independent self

Answer 23

interpersonally disengaging acts feel good
well being = positive feelings
the more positive feelings, the better
high arousal positive emotions - exicitement, joy

Question 24

subjective well being of interdependent self

Answer 24

interpersonally engaging acts feel good
well being = appriopriate role behaviors
balance between positive and negative feelings
low arousal positive emotions -> calmness, relaxation

Question 25

physical attractiveness - unviersal vs culture specific components

Answer 25

universal: skin, symmetry, avarageness (evolutionary explanations)

culture-specific: body weight, body decoration

Question 26

why is clear skin attractive?

Answer 26

diseases show on the skin
indicator of health
no parasites

Question 27

why is symmetry attractive?

Answer 27

more relevant in tribes with heightened infant mortality - signifies health and good development in womb, also lack of parasites

function unviersal - cognitively available, used in the same way - but not accessible to the same extent

Question 28

why are average faces attractive?

Answer 28

easier to process (resemble prototype), less likely associated with genetic abnormalities

mixed ethniity faces more favored especially in multicultural contexts (best average)
also signals genetic diversity

Question 29

propinquity

Answer 29

closeness in space
universal
people become friends with those with whom they have frequent interactions
mere exposure effect

policeman lined in alphabetical order were more likely to become friends according to this order (also found in chickens)

Question 30

similarity

Answer 30

sharing important similar values, personality
creates attraction -> not universally across all cultures (also absent in chickens)

more important for independent self!

less important for interdependent self -> less mobility between outgroup vs ingroup -> pre-determined who will be in your social circle

Question 31

types of close relationships

Answer 31

1) communal sharing
2) authority ranking
3) equality matching
4) market pricing

Question 32

communal sharing

Answer 32

take what you need, contribute what you can, no record keeping

examples: family dinner

prevalence: foraging societies with little or no surplus

Question 33

authority ranking

Answer 33

privilages and prestige for high standing members, protection and care for low standing members

examples: military, caste system

prevalence: hierarchical societies

Question 34

equality matching

Answer 34

recordkeeping, balance and reciprocity

example: dinner invitations, gift giving in Japan

prevalence: subsistence societies with surplus

Question 35

market pricing

Answer 35

proportionality and ratio, cost-benefit analysis, status is irrelevant

example: market

prevalence: individualistic societies

Question 36

independent self -> friends and enemies

Answer 36

many friends, little enemies

high relational mobility - more opportunities for new relations

choose to whom they relate to (trust)

conditional and voluntary, mutually beneficial

casual attitude

solicited advice

similarity and attractiveness as decisive factors (more tyranny of beautiful, more halo effect)

Question 37

interdependent self

Answer 37

few friends, more enemies - higher standard who can be called a friend

low relational mobility - stable relations

relationships are born of the network (unavoidable) - assurance

unconditional and enduring benefits, but also obligations

painstaking (often cautious) attitude

unsolicited advice

similarity and attractiveness not that important

Question 38

are romantic relationships universal?

Answer 38

• romantic love was evident in 89% of 166 cultures (based on ethnographies)
• remaining 11% - argued that ethnographic oversight
• meaning and display of affection differed

Question 39

why do we love?

Answer 39

→ parental love increases survival chances of offspring (long dependent infancy needs care)
→ romantic love increases survival chances of offspring (two parents can provide better care)
- but single parents in Western context do as well as two parents! → enough environmental support!

Question 40

love marriages

Answer 40

nuclear family with weak ties

glue: romantic love keeps partners together

individualistic societies: behavior reflects dispositions, more idealization, higher divorce rates

Question 41

level of satisfaction in different models of marriage

Answer 41

arranged marriages -> less satisfied in the beginning, over time more satidfied -> why?
- may be due to conducting study in India -> being in love marriage was not culturally valued
-> starting with little love means it can only increase
-> over time parental identity becomes more pronounced and important.

Question 42

arranged marriages

Answer 42

extended family system - strong ties

glue: kin relations provide social pressure for couple to stay together

collectivistic societies: behavior reflects situational constraints, less idealization