Integrating Cultural Expression with Universal Emotions: How Cultural Differences in Expression Do Not Refute the Universal Hypothesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Kyla Trkulja
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Cultural Expression ◽  
Expression Of Emotion ◽  
Specific Learning ◽  
Biological Differences

The universal hypothesis of emotions argues that due to the functionality that emotions and their behavioural components provide, they show similar patterns across all cultures. Though there is substantive evidence supporting this theory, there are several cases were emotional expression does differ between cultures. This paper argues that such differences in expression are not necessarily evidence against the universal hypothesis as they are not due to innate biological differences in the emotional experience. Instead, differences in expression are the result of culture-specific learning and act to modify the expression of emotion to meet social norms. Since differences in expression are not innate, individuals are capable of experiencing emotions in an evolutionary adaptive way, regardless of culture. This has implications for better understanding individuals across cultures and why some individuals may act differently than others, despite having a similar emotional experience.

“I Am Tensing”: Thoughts on Active and Passive Language in the Description and Expression of Emotion in Psychotherapy

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Andrew E. Roffman
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Direct Experience ◽  
Expression Of Emotion ◽  
The Moment

My intention in writing this paper is to outline the different effects of active and passive language use in psychotherapy when it comes to the expression and description of emotion. I will argue for the value of helping clients shift from passive to active language as they describe their emotional experience; that this shift deepens a client's engagement in the moment, allowing for embodiment, ownership, and accountability especially regarding distressing emotion. I will describe how mindfulness adds a further step in deepening this process. I will offer exceptions for the promotion of active over passive language, as well as an exercise so that readers may experiment with similar shifts in their own emotional expression as a means of having a direct experience of the effects of active language.

The Integration of Emotional Expression and Experience: A Pragmatist Review of Recent Evidence From Brain Stimulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caruana Fausto
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Supplementary Motor Area ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Affective Neuroscience ◽  
Common View ◽  
Frontal Operculum ◽  
Affective Experiences ◽  
Stimulation Of

A common view in affective neuroscience considers emotions as a multifaceted phenomenon constituted by independent affective and motor components. Such dualistic connotation, obtained by rephrasing the classic Darwin and James’s theories of emotion, leads to the assumption that emotional expression is controlled by motor centers in the anterior cingulate, frontal operculum, and supplementary motor area, whereas emotional experience depends on interoceptive centers in the insula. Recent stimulation studies provide a different perspective. I will outline two sets of findings. First, affective experiences can be elicited also following the stimulation of motor centers. Second, emotional expressions can be elicited by stimulating interoceptive regions. Echoing the original pragmatist theories of emotion, I will make a case for the notion that emotional experience emerges from the integration of sensory and motor signals, encoded in the same functional network.

Dimensions of Cultural Variation

2019 ◽  
pp. 67-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter B. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Multilevel Modeling ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Measurement Bias ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
The Social ◽  
Do So

To understand cultural differences, we need to find ways to characterize the variations in the social contexts in which people are located. To do so, we must focus on differences between contexts rather than differences between individuals. Most research of this type has examined differences between nations in terms of dimensions. Treating each nation as a unit, contrasts have been identified in terms of values, beliefs, self-descriptions, and social norms. The most influential difference identified concerned the dimension of individualism–collectivism, which has provided the theoretical framework for numerous studies. The validity of this type of investigation rests on close attention to aspects of measurement to ensure that respondents are able to make the necessary judgments and to respond in ways that are not affected by measurement bias. Where many nations are sampled, multilevel modeling can be used to show the ways in which dimensions of culture affect social behaviors.

Coping Through Emotional Approach: Emerging Evidence for the Utility of Processing and Expressing Emotions in Responding to Stressors

2009 ◽  
pp. 224-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette L. Stanton ◽  
Sarah J. Sullivan ◽  
Jennifer L. Austenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Cognitive Appraisals ◽  
Clinical Intervention ◽  
Approach Coping ◽  
Core Components ◽  
Intervention Trials ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Emotional Approach

Emotional approach coping (EAC) is a construct encompassing the intentional use of emotional processing and emotional expression in efforts to manage adverse circumstances. The construct was developed in an attempt to reconcile a discrepancy between the empirical coping literature, in which an association between the use of emotion-focused coping and maladjustment often is reported, and literature in other areas describing the adaptive roles of emotional processing and expression. At least two significant limitations in the way emotion-focused coping has been operationalized help explain this discrepancy: widely disparate coping strategies, both approach-oriented and avoidance-oriented, are designated as emotion-focused coping in the literature, and some emotion-focused coping items in published measures are confounded with expressions of distress or self-deprecation. To address these problems in measurement, the EAC scale was developed. The measure includes two correlated but distinct subscales: Emotional Processing (i.e., attempts to acknowledge, explore, and understand emotions) and Emotional Expression (i.e., verbal and/or nonverbal efforts to communicate or symbolize emotional experience). Recent research using this psychometrically sound measure has provided evidence that EAC enhances adjustment to stressors including infertility, sexual assault, and breast cancer. The findings are not uniform, however, and further study of moderators such as the interpersonal context, the nature of the stressor, cognitive appraisals of the stressor, and individual differences is needed, along with additional study of mechanisms for the effects of EAC. Although emotional processing and expression are core components of many clinical approaches, specific measurement of EAC thus far has been limited to only a few clinical intervention trials. An understanding of who benefits from EAC in which contexts and how these benefits accrue will require continued integration of findings from stress and coping research, emotion science, and clinical studies.

The veil and veracity of passion in Chinese poetics

2002 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Sundararajan
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Literary Critic ◽  
Mind Reading ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Expression Of Emotion ◽  
Ritual Dance ◽  
The Veil ◽  
Expression Of Emotions ◽  
The Ideal

The ideal poetry is speech that capitalizes on indirection, avers the literary critic Yang Tsai (1271–1323): “Sorrow and grief are held in reserve and no pain is expressed; praise and attack are indirect and not obvious.” To spell out this vision of the Confucian poetics, a reformulation of the IND-COL (Individualism-Collectivism) hypothesis is proposed to anchor cross-cultural differences in terms of Novelty-focus versus Authenticity-focus, with the former being privileged in individualistic cultures, and the latter, collectivistic cultures. The Authenticity-focus hypothesis sheds light on two major functions of indirect expression of emotions: (a) As anti-exploitation device, with the sender’s skills consisting primarily of suppression of emotions; and the receiver’s skills, mind-reading and attunement. (b) As means to achieve inter- and intra-personal harmony, with poetry in particular functioning as a “ritual dance with words” to shape and mold emotions. Data that support the “Authenticity-focus” hypothesis challenge the conventional dichotomy of expression versus inhibition in emotion research, by showing that indirect expression of emotion functions like a veil that reveals and conceals at once the truth of the emoter.

scholarly journals Cameras in the Countryside: Recreational Photography in Rural Ontario, 1851-1920

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-31
Author(s):  
Jacqueline McIsaac
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Glass Plate ◽  
Rural Society ◽  
Income Diversification ◽  
Cultural Expression ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Diversification Strategies ◽  
Leisure Pursuit

The introduction and subsequent refinement of glass plate negative technology facilitated photography’s appropriation within rural Ontario. As a recreational consumer technology, the camera became easier to use, financially accessible, and portable, thus better suiting the needs of rural consumers. While technological advancements allowed the camera to be adopted as a leisure pursuit, its use was directed by the countryside’s cultural values and social norms. These interests influenced who used cameras, how photo-supplies were purchased, the camera’s place within household income diversification strategies, and the photographer’s gaze, all of which suggest that when photo-technology was used in the countryside, it was as an extension of, not a challenge to, rural cultural values. At the same time, as the first photography system that was accessible to the middle and labouring classes, glass plates cannot help but reveal the visual priorities this new group of consumers, thus contributing to current discussions on cultural aspects of rural society. Consequently, glass plate cameras in Ontario’s countryside functioned as both a documentary medium as well as a form of cultural expression.

Cultural Neuroscience of Compassion and Empathy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Y. Chiao
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Social Cooperation ◽  
Cultural Neuroscience ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Human Ability

“Compassion” and “empathy” refer to adaptive emotional responses to suffering in oneself and others that recruit affective and cognitive processes. The human ability to understand the emotional experience of others is fundamental to social cooperation, including altruism. While much of the scientific study of compassion and empathy suggests that genes contribute to empathy and compassion, recent empirical advances suggest gene–environment interactions, as well as cultural differences in development, influence the experience, expression, and regulation of empathy and compassion. The goal of this chapter is to review recent theoretical and empirical advances in the cultural neuroscience of empathy and compassion. Implications of the cultural neuroscientific study of empathy and compassion for public policy and population health disparities will be discussed.

scholarly journals Towards a unified model for positive states, mindfulness and wellbeing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Bloomfield
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Unified Model ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Neuronal Mechanisms ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
The Relationship

<p>A unified model of positive emotional expression, based on existing research, is presented. The proposed model is broader in scope, than a purely cognitive model (see Fig. 1); incorporating pro-social states can be induced directly through adaptive perceptual processes such as mirror-neuronal mechanisms, but whereby state expressions are modulated by adaptive <i>fundamental cognitive evaluations</i> (FCEs). It is proposed that these FCEs work in cohort to elicit emotional experience and prime the expressional potentiality of related affective states that share FCE dimensions. So that an individual experiencing kindness would be more likely to be disposed to feeling compassion or muditā (vicarious joy) - enabling appropriate onward social interaction.</p> <p>It is proposed that the activation of FCEs are modulated by socio-cultural schema, including attitudinal scripts shared within a culture and reflected in heterogeneous trait patterns by cultural/geographical area. The role of mindful decentring from such schema, and the onward effect on FCE expression, is explored; specifically, in relation to states associated with Self-Determination Theory’s (SDT) motivational areas of competency, autonomy and relatedness. </p> <p>A speculative model exploring the relationship between SDT, positive states; key aspect of mindfulness and HEXACO traits is presented as a spur for future discussion and study (see Fig. 2).</p>

scholarly journals Harmonic organisation conveys both universal and culture-specific cues for emotional expression in music

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244964
Author(s):  
George Athanasopoulos ◽  
Tuomas Eerola ◽  
Imre Lahdelma ◽  
Maximos Kaliakatsos-Papakostas
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Pitch Height ◽  
Emotional Cues ◽  
Minor Mode ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Cross Cultural Study ◽  
Expression Of Emotion ◽  
Time Harmonic ◽  
Cultural Connotations

Previous research conducted on the cross-cultural perception of music and its emotional content has established that emotions can be communicated across cultures at least on a rudimentary level. Here, we report a cross-cultural study with participants originating from two tribes in northwest Pakistan (Khow and Kalash) and the United Kingdom, with both groups being naïve to the music of the other respective culture. We explored how participants assessed emotional connotations of various Western and non-Western harmonisation styles, and whether cultural familiarity with a harmonic idiom such as major and minor mode would consistently relate to emotion communication. The results indicate that Western concepts of harmony are not relevant for participants unexposed to Western music when other emotional cues (tempo, pitch height, articulation, timbre) are kept relatively constant. At the same time, harmonic style alone has the ability to colour the emotional expression in music if it taps the appropriate cultural connotations. The preference for one harmonisation style over another, including the major-happy/minor-sad distinction, is influenced by culture. Finally, our findings suggest that although differences emerge across different harmonisation styles, acoustic roughness influences the expression of emotion in similar ways across cultures; preference for consonance however seems to be dependent on cultural familiarity.

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