Unit 5 Flashcards
Is public kissing acceptable in Japan?
no
-> affection and tenderness should not be publicly displayed
How do Japanese people get teached to deal with their emotions?
to restrain them in public
-> sign of weakness to not be able to control anxiety, fear, joy or sadness
How are facial expressions are important in emotions?
we can tell their emotions through them
what kind of purpose do basic emotional expressions serve according to Darwin?
an adaptive purpose
What do emotions regulate and serve?
they regulate social behavior and serve to protect people from danger
What role do Fear, Anger and Disgust play in our lifes?
- Fear and anger: produce greater acceleration of heart rate than does joy - imply defending yourself or running away from a threat
- Disgust: prevents us from trying potentially toxic substances such as rotten food or spoiled water
What did researches find in the vocal expression of emotions?
a universal pattern
Are micro expressions universal?
yes, most people can identify emotions correctly across the whole globe
-> existence of the same facial muscular patterns
What is emotional intonation and how does it differ across cultures?
the tone of your expression
-> is similar in different cultures
What are the 5 basic emotions that are present in almost every national classification?
Anger, fear, happiness, sadness and disgust
what are additional basic emotions that are present in other cultures?
Surupise, contempts, interest, shame, joy, trust, anticipation, guilt
What does it indicate, that the linguistic labels for certain complex emotions are relatively similar across cultures?
that there are universal roots of human emotional experiences and their interpretations
What kind of emotions is Individualism positively and negatively correlated with?
positively: higher expressivity of emotions, especially happiness and surprise
negatively: expression of sadness
-> cultural individualism is associated with the endorsement of positive emotions
What are negative emotions perceived as in collectivistic cultures?
contempt and disgust: perceived as disruptive to social relationships
sadness: signals distress - interpreted as a clear sign of a person’s weakness
disgust: reject certain foods or avoid particular situations related to eating - also associated with perception of food contamination
why may differences in emotion recognition between representatives of two cultures may exist?
because some emotional expressions are cultivated in children during the socialization process and some are not.
-> e.g.: public display of emotions is mostly discouraged because it is seen as being disruptive in Japan: may affect Japanese perception of people fro other cultures who do display their emotions without any hesitation
What is how we feel and how we express our feelings based on?
personality, experiences and social interactions
how is emotion a multidimensional process? what does it involve?
- emotion is initiated, underlying physiological process for the emotion
- the emotion is experienced, it is displayed or remains hidden
- emotion affects our decisions - can cause other emotions
- emotion fades away
Where can we find significant cross-cultural similarities?
in the underlying physiological mechanisms of emotions
What kind of connection did researchers find in the analysis of emotions?
found a connection between the simple act of chaining facial expressions and patterns of physiological response
What do different emotions produce?
differences in variables:
- acceleration of heart rate
- finger temperature
Which countries show larger increases in blood pressure when expressing negative emotions?
asian Americans compared to European Americans
-> may be caused through preceding events
What is the meaning of preceding events?
there is always something that causes or initiates an emotion
-> e.g.: a pain in your body, a game, a meeting
Can the same situations be interpreted differently across cultures and lead to different emotions?
yes
What can a variety of preceding events produce in most human beings, regardless of their cultural origin or current identity?
similar emotional responses
-> also, particular emotions can be elicited by culture-specific events due to the different interpretation of events
what regulates our evaluations of emotions?
some cultural norms and rules
What do feeling rules refer to?
to particular cultural rules about how to feel in particular situations
When can an emotion be felt differently?
considering the context in which it is displayed or observed
When do individuals feel more certain about the meaning of events and give more certain e motional responses?
when there are clear norms about how to interpret these events and how to respond to them
what are other dimensions along pleasure or displeasure when people try to evaluate their emotional experience?
- familiar or unfamiliar event
- suggest the existence of an obstacle
- create a sense of being in charge or being out of control
- increase or decrease self-esteem
- cause praise, reproach or mockery by one’s group
what are display rules?
Every culture has particular sanctions that support display rules of patterns of emotional expression considered appropriate within that culture
-> how to manage emotions and control its manifestation
what are two criteria of displaying rules?
frequency and intensity
-> e.g.: U.S. parents commonly say “I love you” to their children. Ukraine, Russia or Belarus that expression is strong and intrusive.
what has been found to be more prevalent in East Asian than in Western cultures?
emotional complexity or the co-occurrence of pleasant and unpleasant emotions simultaneously
what does the expression of emotions depend on?
on environmental factors and the presence of others
What influence does socioeconomic crisis have on the expression of emotions?
Low admission level of personal happiness and expression of life’s satisfaction with life in
countries with socioeconomic crisis
How can emotions be a challenge?
through anxiety and stress
What is the definition of stress according to the slides?
The realization of a challenge to a person’s capacity to adapt to inner and outer demands
what are two important aspects of stress?
- It is a psychobiological process.
- It entails a transaction between people and their environments
what are some of the most stressful universal events?
- death of a loved one
- daily hassles -> absence of food to lack of free time
- catastrophes and disasters
- recurrent nightmares
what does it depend on how people evaluate stress and stressful situations?
- cultural determination
- individual personality traits
What is self-criticism, pessimism, anxiety and stress evaluation of one’s life viewed as in some ethnic groups?
as a cultural norm
-> e.g.: asians constantly score higher than European Americans on measures of emotional distress
What is the absence of anxiety considered in the western perspective?
desirable characteristic associated with positive mental health and healthy interpersonal functioning
What is anger seen as cross-culturally?
an emotion aroused by one’s perception of being interfered with or threatened and/or overt or covert activities of attack or offense
-> seen as an interpersonal emotion (involves norm violation committed by other people)
What does Anger often lead to and what does the other expression (Song) from the pacific region mean?
- anger often leads to the tendency to return the others persons harm
- song produces action that aims to alter the behavior of the offending person (aggressive behaviors but may also consist of avoidant behavioral reactions)
What is anger seen as in collectivistic cultures?
an emotion of disengagement from society
-> a threat to its integrity
How many views of happiness are there?
8
Materialist view
Progressive view
Situational view
Perception-comparative vies
Expectation view
Biological view
Spiritual view
Humanistic view
What does the materialist view of happiness state?
it is the accumulation of material wealth, such as money
-> possession of power and high social status
-> the higher the social power, the more power they have
What is the Progressive view of Happiness?
Social care is the main trigger for happiness
-> no external factors contributing to suffering when every individual is guaranteed basic social services
What is happiness about?
not necessarily about material possession or social services, rather cumulative life situation
-> presence or absence of major tragedies
-> quality of one’s relationships
-> access to opportunities
What can we conclude about happiness?
it is a state of mind based on appraisals and comparisons
What does the expectation view of happiness refer?
refers to the goals that the individual had in the past and the degree to which a person has accomplished these goals
-> critic: expectations change, when life is getting better - expectations tend to increase - increasing dissatisfaction as well
! The better the outcomes we expect, the less happy we become if these expectations are not met
What does the biological view of Happiness suggest?
that wether people are happy or less happy primarily depends on their genetic and biological makeup
-> some people are predisposed to have more of pleasant sensations in the brain and body
What does evolutionary psychology maintain regarding happiness?
that happiness is a temporary state that organisms try to achieve
What does the spiritual view of happiness underline?
the importance of inner factors
-> emphasizes the search for the higher power within the individual
-> pleasant sensations coming from the body come and go
Where does the focus (the path to happiness) lay on in the spiritual view of happiness?
in circumscribing the influence of the external world of sensation and cultivating inner wisdom and the introspective mind
What do psychologists working within the humanistic perspective embrace?
other views on happiness
-> they suggest their own version of how people become and remain happy
-> joy, a passing emotion is not necessarily the same as the state of happiness
how does the humanistic view state define happiness?
happiness is a state of mind that individuals can control
-> can be learned and achieved
What does the humanistic view on happiness encourages?
interpersonal actions (asking for help), critical thinking, and engagement in social affairs
-> positive feedback
-> self-growth
What does cross-cultural psychology research support regarding happiness?
ancient philosophies that happiness is often based on our own ability to stay positive
-> e.g.: choosing the wrong goals in life
Does happiness last long?
no, it is unlikely to
What is happiness also a factor of?
longevity and health
-> people who believed in getting healthier tend to achieve more positive results
