Week Three

Question 1

James Lange Theory (2)

Answer 1

• emotions are the physiological responses to stimuli and act a cues to signal how we should behave
• predicts cultural universality

Question 2

Two Factor Theory of Emotions (2)

Answer 2

• emotions are based on physiological responses and the interpretation of those responses
• predicts cultural variation

Question 3

Two factor theory study (4)

Answer 3

• ppl were made to feel either euphoria or anger
• given a placebo shot, or were put into either the epinephrine informed or uninformed conditions
• those in the uninformed condition felt the most emotion because they had no good explanation for their emotion and interpreted it in the light of the situation they were in
• people rely on cues from the environment to help them interpret bodily sensations

Question 4

Universality of Basic Emotions Study (4)

Answer 4

• participants from US, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Japan were shown photos of people making basic emotion expressions
• selected which emotions matched best
  -identified correctly in 80-90% of photos
  there appears to be universal basic emotions of happiness, disgust, sadness, surprise, anger and fear
• however all countries included were industrialized, literate countries (they could have learned how to interpret typical emotional expressions of other cultures)

Question 5

Basic Emotions outside of the West (4)

Answer 5

• participants from the Fore culture (minimal exposure to the West) were asked to imagine how they would feel and make the corresponding expression in certain situations
• they made expressions highly similar to Westernerns
• certain basic emotions/expressions seem to be universal
  -BUT surprise and sadness were not recognised among the Fore

Question 6

Cultural Display rules (3)

Answer 6

• culturally specific rules which govern which facial expressions are appropriate in a given situation and how intensely they should be expressed
• some cultures encourage expression to be exaggerated and others more muted
• heterogenous cultures have more expressive display rules

Question 7

Ritualized Display

Answer 7

• a facial expression that is expressed in some cultures but not others, such facial expressions differ from the alleged universal facial expressions

Question 8

Facial Feedback hypothesis (2)

Answer 8

• theory that states that facial expressions are a source of info that is used to infer our emotional experiences
• this implies that emotional expressions are not completely unrelated as the display rule argument implies

Question 9

Facial Feedback Hypothesis Study (5)

Answer 9

• participants were either made to smile or frown without their awareness by holding a pen in their mouth (either between their teeth without touching their teeth or between their lips without touching their teeth)
• then they rated how amused they were with a number of cartoons
• smiling condition found cartoons to be more amusing than the frowning condition
• emotions are influenced by the expressions of their faces
• display rules cannot be used to argue that emotions are experienced the same at the core universality and only their expression differs

Question 10

Emotional intensity (1)

Answer 10

• in cultures where the expression of anger is problematic, people tend to experience anger less intensely and for a shorter period

Question 11

Anger intensity study (4)

Answer 11

• Chinese Canadian and European Canadian participants were exposed to a rude and unprofessional experimenter while their blood pressure was being measured
• initial reaction: both groups responded with similar degrees of anger
• Chinese Canadian’s blood pressure returned to normal much faster
• they all suppressed their anger not expressed, this lead to a slower decrease for European Canadians but not Chinese Canadians
• East Asians seem to be more comfortable with strategies of suppressing their anger, while Westerners seem to suffer from physiological consequences of not being able to express it

Question 12

Kinds of emotions in independent cultures (3)

Answer 12

• focus on personal differentiation and how events might distinguish one from others
• emotional states are intrapersonal states that lie within the individual
• kinds of emotions are thus interpersonally disengaged (proud, anger)

Question 13

Kinds of emotions in interdependent cultures (3)

Answer 13

• focus on interpersonal harmony and how events affect close others as well and oneself
• emotions are interpersonal states that connect people to eachother
• kinds of emotions are thus interpersonally engaged (respect, shame)

Question 14

Happiness and emotional experiences study (4)

Answer 14

• Japanese and American participants answered questions about their emotional experiences based on 2 dimensions: positive v negative, interpersonally engaged v disengaged
• these dimensions were then correlated with general positive feelings
• American: more positive interpersonally disengaged emotions were correlated with more positive feelings
  -Japanese: more positive interpersonally engaged emotions were correlated with more positive feelings in general

Question 15

Subjective wellbeing (2)

Answer 15

• the feeling of being satisfied with one’s life, studies reveal cultural variability in this
• many factors contribute i.e. income level, human rights protection

Question 16

Factors that influence people’s judgments of life satisfaction (4)

Answer 16

1. source of wellbeing
2. personal theories: people have different theories about how happy they think they should feel
3. positive emotions: have different consequences across cultures
4. Ideal affect: the kinds positive emotions people desire varies

Question 17

Wellbeing independent cultures

Answer 17

1. Main source: positive feelings
2. Personal theories: the more positive feelings the better
3. Positive emotions: protect against depression
4. Ideal affect: high arousal positive emotions (i.e. excitement)

Question 18

Wellbeing interdependent cultures (4)

Answer 18

1. Main source: appropriate role behaviours
2. Personal theories: balance between positive and negative feelings
3. Positive feelings: do not necessarily protect against depression
4. Ideal affect: low arousal positive emotions (calm, peace)

Question 19

Personal life satisfaction theories (5)

Answer 19

• European American and Asian American participants completed a questionnaire every day for a week about satisfaction (actual ratings)
• at the end of the week they were asked how satisfied they had been (retrospective ratings)
• European: retrospective ratings higher than actual
  -Asian: similar ratings for both
• European Americans seem to believe that life should be happy while Asian Americans believe life has a balance of positive and negative experiences

Question 20

Universal appealing facial features (3)

Answer 20

• clear complexion: important indicator for good health
• facial symmetry: associated with developmental stability
• average size: less likelihood of genetic abnormalities and easier to process

Question 21

Beautiful bodies (3)

Answer 21

• in contrast to faces, people are attracted to bodies that depart from average
• weight: the current Western idea of women being slim was not prevalent even a generation ago, and in many cultures a heavier body is ideal
• decoration: cultures vary in the way they decorate their bodies, exposure to Western ideals has a strong influence on people’s preferences because ideals in the West are seen as markers of high status

Question 22

Propinquity effect (3)

Answer 22

• powerful universal phenomenon
• tendency for people to become close to those they encounter often and interact with frequently
• seems to be an accessibility universal and operates on the basis of the mere exposure effect

Question 23

Similarity-attraction effect (3)

Answer 23

• cultural variation in this (weaker for Japanese than North Americans)
• tendency for people to be attracted to those more like themselves
• one of the most powerful and reliable predictors for the development of interpersonal relationships

Question 24

Propinquity effect study

Answer 24

• new recruits of a police academy were lined up according to the alphabetical order of their names which also influenced where they sat and the location of their dorm rooms
• then they were asked to nominate their closest friends at the academy
• results showed a diagonal pattern indicating that alphabetical ordering played a large role in ppl’s

Question 25

Similarity-attraction effect study

Answer 25

Canadian and Japanese participants completed questionnaires about personality or their social background
- they were shown a profile of a stranger either v similar or dissimilar to their own profile and indicated how much they felt they would like the stranger
- Canadian: liked the highly similar person more
- Japanese: liking was identical regardless of similarity

Question 26

4 Fundamental models of social interaction (4)

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Communal Sharing (3)

Answer 27

• members of a group emphasize a common identity and each person has the same rights and privileges
• i.e. family or people in love
• high prevalence in foraging cities with little or no surplus

Question 28

Authority ranking (4)

Answer 28

• privileges and prestige for high-standing members
• protection and care for low standing members
• i.e. military or caste system
• high prevalence in hierarchal societies

Question 29

Equality matching (4)

Answer 29

• balance and reciprocity, record keeping of what is exchanged
• motivation to pay back in equivalent turns
  -i.e. dinner invitations or car pooling
• high prevalence in subsistence societies with a surplus

Question 30

Market pricing (4)

Answer 30

• proportionality and ratios, cost-benefit analysis
• transactions equivalent in value for both sides
• i.e. property exchange
• high prevalence in individualistic societies

Question 31

Relational mobility (2)

Answer 31

• the amount of freedom have to move between relationships
• cultures with higher residential mobility, and thus more relationship opportunities are more likely to have higher relational mobility

Question 32

High relational mobility (8)

Answer 32

• independent cultures
• flexible, dynamic ties
• plenty opportunities for new connections
• relationships primarily determined by choice
• relationships are mutually beneficial
• similarity and attractiveness and decisive factors
• many friends, few enemies, trust
• solicited advice

Question 33

Low relational mobility (8)

Answer 33

• interdependent cultures
• stable relationships
• fewer opportunities to form new relationships
• relationships determined primarily by circumstances
• relationships provide benefits and obligations
• similarity and attractiveness are less important
• few friends, more enemies, caution
• unsolicited advice

Question 34

Halo effect (1)

Answer 34

• the tendency to evaluate someone as generally positive after one positive attribute

Question 35

Similarity and attractiveness

Answer 35

• in high relational mobility contexts, any attribute that can attract new relationships is of more value
• when relationships are stable, these characteristics are less important since relationships will exist independently anyways
• thus attractiveness and similarity is more important in high mobility cultures

Question 36

Trust and enemies

Answer 36

• low mobility cultures report more enemies and caution probably because relationships are involuntary often and have more costs (obligations)

Question 37

Enemies study

Answer 37

• American (high mobility) and Ghanaian (low mobility) participants were asked to report if they had any enemies
• Ghanaians had much more enemies and were also more likely to view them as coming from their ingroup while Americans felt they were coming from outside their group

Question 38

Simpatico (2)

Answer 38

• a relational style characterised by an emphasis on acting hospitable, gracious and maintaining harmony
• in many Latin American cultures this style is viewed as the goal, and they act in more sociable ways than European Americans

Question 39

How love increases survival chances of our offspring (2)

Answer 39

1. parental love: causes people to commit vast amounts of time and resources into taking care of their children who have a long vulnerable childhood
2. romantic love: binds couples together so they can provide good care to their offspring (2 parents can provide better care than 1)

Question 40

Views on Marriage study

Answer 40

• college students from several countries were asked if a man/woman had all the qualities you desired, would you marry them if you were not in love with them?
• India and Pakistan: 50% said yes, 25% said no, and 25% said not sure
• English speaking countries and Latin America: more than 80% said no and less than 5% said yes

Question 41

Family structure (3)

Answer 41

• cultures that have extended family systems (strong ties) favor arranged marriages
• cultures with nuclear family structures (weak ties) favor love marriages
• cultures with strong family ties have social pressure to stay together, in the absence of this, romantic love is necessary to stay together

Question 42

Western views on love (4)

Answer 42

-The question that many Westerners have “How could you have a marriage without love?” reveals 3
assumptions they have about love:
1) Choice: you will only love someone you have chosen yourself (but typically, those in arranged marriages gradually come to have strong loving feelings)
2) Uniqueness: because I am a unique person, I can only come to love someone that I can connect with in a unique and special way and only I can identify someone like that for myself. (but other cultures see marriage as the intersection of 2 families, in which they trust their families to make the right decision for them, taking all parties into account)
3) Foundation: a marriage without the foundation of love is bound to be unhappy and unsuccessful. (but evidence suggests that couples in arranged marriages are at least as satisfied)

Question 43

Marital status and duration study:

Answer 43

• Indian couples in either arranged or love marriages were compared on their marital satisfaction and duration
• results showed that though in initial years those in love marriages professed more love, over time the couples in arranged marriages reported more love