Emotions as Universal? Cultural expressions of feelings Week 2 Lec 2

Emotions as Universal?

Introduction

• The lecture explores the question of whether emotions are universal experiences or culturally specific constructs.

• It considers the roles of evolutionary processes, biological wiring, and unique social experiences in shaping emotions.

Initial Question

• The video accurately displays how emotions work. They are universal and biologically wired in our brain.

  • 52% True.

  • 46% False.

Key Questions

• Are emotions universal experiences resulting from evolution, or are they culturally specific, reflecting unique social experiences?

• Why is this question important?

• What can anthropology add to this debate?

Lecture Outline

• 1st Hour:

  • Are expressions of emotions universal or cultural?

  • Do we all express our emotions in the same way?

• 2nd Hour:

  • Are emotions themselves universal or cultural?

  • Are there basic, biologically predetermined emotions, or are emotions cultural constructs?

Learning Objectives

• Understand common perspectives on emotions as universal.

• Understand why anthropologists challenge the universality of emotions.

• Understand how we are socialized into emotions in culturally appropriate ways.

• Explain the difference between materialist and constructivist approaches to emotions.

• Discuss why anthropologists argue that emotions need to be studied in context.

• Explain how the Ilongot illustrate anthropological approaches to emotions.

Emotions and Facial Expressions

• The lecture references images of facial expressions associated with various emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, etc.).

• What emotions match these facial expressions?

  • Happiness - 90%

  • Fear - 10%

  • Surprise - 0%

  • Anger - 0%

  • Disgust - 0%

  • Sadness - 0%

The Emotional Lives of Others: Thinking Anthropologically

• Emotions should be studied within real-life episodes where feelings like love, anger, and sadness are embedded.

• Context is crucial.

• It is difficult to have a standardized definition of emotion due to different cultures and experiences.

Anthropology and Emotions

• Anthropology compares emotions across cultures, questioning whether emotions like anger and joy are universal or culturally specific.

• Are emotions natural kinds (like species) or cultural inventions?

• Where do emotions begin and end in a sequence of behavior?

• Are there basic emotions with variants?

Being Socialized into Emotions

• We are socialized into how and when to express certain emotions.

• We are socialized into what you are feeling – you are handed the concepts with which to make sense of sensations.

• Emotions and expressions are learned behaviors shaped by cultural norms and contexts.

How Inuit Parents Teach Their Children

• Illustrates the argument of socialization

• Critical reading questions:

  • Who's the authoritative voice here?

  • How are these practices described?

  • Are our concepts of emotions easily translatable and projectable?

Challenging Popular Views

• Emotions cannot be taken out of context; they are not stand-alone "things."

• It's difficult to distinguish between nature and nurture in emotions.

• We must question whether we can project our own concepts of emotions onto other cultural contexts.

Innate Emotions? Darwinian or Materialist Approaches

• Emotions are material things, constituted biologically.

• Emotions are universal and adaptive.

• Culture influences emotions, but individuals primarily “cope” with emotions.

Constructed Emotions? Constructivist Approach

• Emotions are not hard-wired, universal, or automatic reactions.

• Emotions are concepts through which the brain perceives and predicts the world.

• Concepts are labels or categories through which the brain makes sense of the world.

• Emotions like fear or sadness are concepts used to interpret bodily sensations.

• Physical sensations have no objective meaning and do not pre-exist as sadness or fear.

• Emotions feel innate because we need them to make sense of the world.

• You are unable to perceive what you do not have a concept for.

Cultural Concepts of Emotions (Examples)

• Shinrin-yoku (Japanese): relaxation gained from bathing in the forest.

• Iktsuarpok (Inuit): anticipation when waiting for someone, checking outside to see if they've arrived.

• Natsukashii (Japanese): nostalgic longing for the past, with happiness for the memory and sadness that it's gone.

• Sehnsucht (German): intense desire for alternative states and realizations of life, even if unattainable.

Anthropological Perspective on Defining Emotions

• How do we define emotions (muscle movements, hormonal reactions)?

• What gives meaning to emotions?

• Emotions are understood within their cultural and social context.

The Ilongot and Liget

• Insights from Rosaldo:

  • Concepts allow you to perceive and fully experience emotions.

  • Without cultural or narrative context, emotions can be empty and meaningless.

  • Emotions only become meaningful within a cultural context.

  • The complexity and diversity of human emotions is intimately tied to cultural

Key Terms

• Core emotions

• Emotions in context

• Socialization

• Emotions among the Niha

• Inuit

• Darwinian or materialist approach

• Constructivist approach

• Liget and the Ilongot

• Renato Rosaldo

Tolu’s Lecture note.

Why Emotions?

Part 1

Are expressions of emotions universal or Cultural

-Emotions as Universal?

• Facial expressions (known to tell their emotions)

  • Emojis: we had to learn what some if them mean

  • Do cultures express emotions with the same facial expression?

• Emotions are shared (happy, sad, fear)

  • Expression of fear prepares the body to flee or fight (Darwin: facial expressions are universal)

  • Non human primates

  • Blind people smile in the right context

Previous Conclusion.

There are six core Emotions that are universal.

Happy, sad, fear, anger, surprised, disgust.

• But the researchers have a Eurocentric view.

• Emotions only make sense in a context (a nervous smile)

Now conclusion

What are we comparing? the definition of the emotion is important and must have a context.

Emotions are a cultural construct. (

Thigs to think

Are they biological (universal) or shaped by culture?

Don’t all babies cry?

They are not necessarily sad

• They cry cause they are uncomfortable

• The child is taught from birth

• They pass gas, and they do a smiley face

Blind people smile.

• They are taught by touch about a smile.

• They smile more when they know people are watching and not as much when they are not being watched.

How Inuit Parents Teach Their Children

• Illustrate how we are taught emotions

• The voice of authority

• The Language

• Was there a reason why anger

• Was it even anger or an emotion we couldn’t fully understand

Part 2

Are Emotions themselves universal or cultural

-Darwinian or Materialist approaches

• Emotions are Inate

• Physical indicators (hormones etc)

• Universal because of fight or flee, cause we all have hormone

• Emotions are adaptive

• The emotions themselves are universal but the physical expressions of them

-Constructed Emotions (dr Lisa Berrett)

• Emotions are not hard wired into the brain

• They cant be seen physically

• Are how we make sense of the world by relying on past experience, to preserve energy

• Emotions are concepts the brain has

• Physical hormones are not predetermined as angry, happy etc but your brain then looks at what is happening outside and

If your brain does not have a concept you wont be able to interpret. You hear language but it makes no sence if you dont know the language

Therefore, we can rewire our brain to respond differently

HOW DO WE DEFINE EMOTIONS

-   As muscle movements? As hormonal reactions?

     -   What gives meaning to emotions? (CONTEXT and CULTURE)

LIGET: Energetic

A feeling of anger, sadness, a feeling you need to let out.

Consept help understand the context.