Cultural vs Evolutionary Perspective of Emotions

Cultural (vs Evolutionary) Perspective of Emotions

  • The evolutionary perspective on emotions predicts that there are universal aspects of emotion, suggesting that emotions should be similar among all humans and potentially other animals.

    • It raises the question of cultural differences in how emotions are experienced, expressed, and discussed across different societies.

    • Some researchers argue that emotions are socially constructed, referring to the processes through which cultures develop and communicate emotional concepts.

    • Many crucial aspects of human emotion are defined by cultural context rather than being innate and universal.

    • Examples illustrate that even when underlying emotional mechanisms are similar, their expression can vary greatly across cultures.

    • Example: The taste for fats is universal, but culturally specific cuisines demonstrate how different cultures emphasize various sources and combinations of fats.

What is Culture?

  • Richard Shweder (1993) defined culture as:

    • “Meanings, conceptions, and interpretive schemes that are activated, constructed, or brought ‘on-line’ through participation in normative social institutions and practices (including linguistic practices)… giving shape to the psychological processes in individuals in a society.”

Systems of Meaning in Culture

  1. Systems of Meaning

    • Ways to interpret, understand, and explain the world.

    • Units of meaning are often represented by words which symbolize specific categories of experience.

    • Some categories reflect actual distinctions in the natural world, which leads to expected similarities in definitions across cultures.

  2. Cultural Activation of Meaning

    • Cultural participation shapes how meaning is constructed.

    • Example: Different behaviors at a symphony compared to a rock concert showcase how learned behaviors through imitation vary with context.

  3. Psychological Processes Shaped by Culture

    • The way individuals think and act interacts with learned concepts and their interrelations.

    • Example: In Western societies, cats are viewed primarily as “pets,” whereas other cultures may categorize them as food, workers, or dangerous creatures.

    • Some cultures venerate cats, viewing them as holy beings worthy of respect and care.

Cultural Differences in Concepts of Emotion

  • Although physiological and behavioral aspects of emotion may be similar globally, culture influences the language and discourse surrounding emotions.

  • Important points about emotional terminology in different cultures:

    • Not every language has a direct translation for the word “emotion” (Russell, 1991).

    • Variations exist in the number of emotion words across languages:

    • English: Over 2,000 emotion words (though most are rarely used) (Wallace & Carson, 1973).

    • Taiwanese: Approximately 750 emotion words (Boucher, 1979).

    • Chewong (Malaysia): Only 7 words translating to English emotion concepts (Howell, 1981).

    • Example: The Japanese term jodo encompasses a range of emotional states including anger, happiness, sadness, and also non-traditional emotions like being lucky or motivated.

    • In several languages, certain words may refer more to the social context rather than the internal emotional experience. For instance, the Fula word semteende denotes a social situation resembling embarrassment or shame in a Western context.

Concepts of Sadness in Different Cultures

  • In Tahitian culture, there is no specific word for sadness; the term pe'a pe'a expresses feelings such as being sick, fatigued, or troubled.

  • In China, individuals often express their feelings of distress in physiological rather than emotional terms, such as referring to being sick instead of sad (Tsai, Simeonova, & Watanabe, 2004).

  • Comparison of concepts:

    • Emotional expressions such as sadness may not exist in the same way across cultures but are contextualized differently, leading to unique cultural interpretations.

Culture-Specific Emotions

  • Examining whether certain emotions are unique to specific cultures:

    • The criterion for a basic emotion includes its presence across different cultures.

    • James Russell (1991) reviewed ethnographies and identified both English emotion concepts that are absent in other languages and foreign emotion terms that English lacks:

    • Litost (Czech): A torment caused by sudden insight into one’s miserable state (Kundera, 1979/1980).

    • Schadenfreude (German): Pleasure derived from another's misfortune.

    • Liget (Ilongot, Philippine indigenous): A socially encouraged, positive response to injury or insult, akin to anger but viewed positively.

    • Amae (Japanese): A pleasurable sense of dependence and childlike behavior towards another.

    • Filotimo (Greek): Represents honor and moral duty, although there is debate as to whether it's culturally unique.

    • Students are encouraged to identify similar terms or concepts in their own languages.

Implications of Absence of Emotion Words

  • Considerations about emotional experience linked to vocabulary:

    • The hypothesis exists that lacking a word for an emotion may lead to an inability to feel that emotion, though this position is contested.

    • Example: Many people can feel schadenfreude without having a specific word for it. The questions posed challenge whether one might derive satisfaction from witnessing misfortune without explicitly labeling it as such.

    • Research (Combs, Powell, Schurtz, & Smith, 2009) indicates shared emotional constructs can exist across cultures, despite linguistic differences.

    • Russell (1991) provided an example of an Arab woman who felt validation upon learning the term frustration, as her language lacked a direct translation.

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

  • Proposed by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf, it outlines the relationship between language and thought:

    • Strong version (Linguistic Determinism): Language determines thought processes.

    • Weak version (Linguistic Relativity): Language may influence perception.

    • Language shapes cognition, positing that individuals can only think about concepts for which they possess words.

    • In emotions, the hypothesis suggests the inability to identify emotions unless corresponding words exist.

    • Conversely, those emotions that have terms may be experienced and expressed more readily.

Testing the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

  • The hypothesis has undergone extensive testing, frequently yielding little support for the stronger version (linguistic determinism):

    • Example: People speaking languages lacking specific color terms (e.g., for green) can still perceive the color (Ludwig et al., 1972).

    • It appears that color terminology may aid in memory and discrimination rather than fully restrict perception (Ozgen, 2004).

    • Shweder's (1993) definition of culture aligns with the notion that language and culture shape categories of experience.

Real-World Investigations of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

  • Haidt & Keltner (1999) investigated emotional labeling across languages:

    • Participants included Oriya-speaking individuals who lack separate terms for embarrassment and shame.

    • They evaluated facial expressions, labeling them, and narrating backstory.

    • Findings revealed same situation but different labels, indicating emotional overlap despite linguistic differences.

Universalism vs Linguistic Relativity

  • Scholars advocating universalism disagree with the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis:

    • Influential figures like Lenneberg and Chomsky introduced the concept of Universal Grammar:

    • Underlying language structures are shared universally.

    • Innate cognitive frameworks exist within humans, enabling adoption of any language from birth.

    • Genetic predispositions allow for uniform language rules, and observable differences are mere surface phenomena.

    • Steven Pinker articulates in "The Language Instinct" that thought is independent of language and that language conveys pre-existing mental concepts.

Cultural Emotions: Hyper- vs Hypo-cognized

  • A significant cultural distinction focuses on emotional vocabulary richness:

    • The Tahitian language includes 46 words for anger but lacks a specific term for sadness (Levy, 1973).

    • Levy later suggested cultures may hypercognize or hypocognize emotions based on societal significance:

    • Hypercognition: Cultures having comprehensive emotional vocabularies indicating emotional importance.

      • Example: The 46 Tahitian anger terms distinguish various levels of anger.

    • Hypocognition: Cultures exhibiting little conceptual complexity around emotions, often lumping significant emotions with less socially relevant feelings.

      • Example: In Tahiti, sadness may be encompassed within feelings of illness or fatigue, indicating lower social interest.

Power Distance in Cultural Context

  • Another critical cultural variable is power distance, which refers to how cultures perceive and react to social hierarchies:

    • Vertical societies: Emphasize hierarchy and respect for status, influencing emotional expressions and behaviors.

    • Horizontal societies: Minimize hierarchal recognition, leading to informal interactions regardless of social rankings.

    • Comparisons in nonhuman species highlight similar tendencies, where monkey troops have strict hierarchies, contrasting with herd species like deer that reflect more egalitarian structures.

Implications of Power Distance

  • Cultural context can predict emotional displays:

    • In Japan, high-status individuals (like coaches) may express anger at lower-status individuals (like players), while players showing anger towards coaches is frowned upon (Matsumoto, 1996).

    • Leaders in various cultures are often discouraged from displaying emotions like sadness or fear that might denote weakness.

    • In Nepal, emotional expression among Brahman Hindu and Tamang children illustrates variations in willingness to display anger based on perceived status (Cole et al., 2002).

    • Emotional expression differs based on cultural prescriptions rather than genuine internal experiences.

Emotional Experience and Cultural Context

  • Cultural power differences significantly influence emotional experiences, facilitating or discouraging certain emotions based on societal structures:

    • The study by Hwang & Matsumoto (2014) examined Olympic judo competitors and their emotional displays after wins/losses, revealing:

    • Vertical culture competitors exhibited heightened dominance post-victory, suggesting encouragement of overt displays of triumph in salient hierarchy settings.

Epistemological Differences Across Cultures

  • Cultural epistemology affects theories of knowledge and understanding:

    • Western cultures adhere to a linear epistemology, influenced by Aristotle's theories, focusing on constant truths and differences, defining knowledge as knowing what is true or false and unchanging.

    • East Asian cultures typically embrace dialectical epistemology, influenced by Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, prioritizing an understanding of the fluid and interconnected nature of reality.

    • Both epistemological frameworks influence broader cultural norms and practices.

Methodological Considerations in Cultural Emotion Research

  • Emotional studies often compare individuals across national boundaries or ethnic lines, leading to methodological complications:

    • Often, studies focus on comparisons between North American & European cultures with those in Asia (such as Japan or China).

    • Cultural identities often extend beyond strict national borders, complicating analysis and interpretation of emotional expression.

    • Rating systems (e.g., 1-to-7 happiness scales) can vary greatly in meaning depending on participants' cultural contexts.

    • These challenges emphasize the difference between examining group differences versus studying culture holistically.

Integrating Evolutionary and Cultural Perspectives on Emotion

  • Ekman’s Neurocultural Theory of Emotion integrates both cultural and evolutionary views:

    • Environmental events, memories, and fantasies lead to specific appraisals that elicit emotions.

    • Emotional experiences incorporate biological mechanisms, such as autonomic nervous system changes and instinctive facial expressions driven by a universal facial action program.

    • Cultures develop display rules determining appropriate emotional expressions in varying contexts.

Emotion Episodes as Socially Constructed Scripts

  • Russell's idea (1991) regarding emotion episodes emphasizes cultural beliefs forming “scripts” that dictate expected interactions and behaviors linked to emotions:

    • These scripts reflect a blend of universal biological human nature while also incorporating learned cultural aspects, especially concerning emotional triggers and expression.

    • Emotional outcomes and anticipated reactions within these scripts vary greatly across different cultural contexts.

    • Example: The Czech emotion litost arises from a self-revelatory insight, which may elicit different emotional consequences in distinct societal contexts, depending on specific feeling/display rules.

Bibliography and Reading Material

  • Shiota, M., & Kalat, J. W. (2018). Emotion (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

    • Chapter 3