Culture and Emotion

[Instructor Name]
[Class Section Number]

Warm-up Activity
Do you need to be human to have emotions?

Koko the gorilla and he

r kitten

Overview

What Are Emotions?

Historical Background
Current Research and Theory
Importance of Similarities and
Differences
Learning Appropriate Emotional
Expression

What Are Emotions?

What Are Emotions?

Are emotions the same across cultures?

What Are Emotions?

Emotion is shared and different. How
different?

Increasing importance - multicultural

societies & inter-connected world

Overview

What Are Emotions?

Historical Background
Current Research and Theory
Importance of Similarities and
Differences
Learning Appropriate Emotional
Expression

Historical Background
Universalists
All cultures share common
primordial ancestor
Emotions are the same

Constructivists
Humans have adapted to
different environments
Emotions evolved too
Cultural ideas and
practices are allencompassing

Historical Background
Studies by Paul Ekman
(1970s)
Matching emotions
Some variability
Cultural causes
Display rules

Overview

What Are Emotions?

Historical Background
Current Research and Theory
Importance of Similarities and
Differences
Learning Appropriate Emotional
Expression

Current Research and

Theory
North American East Asian
Smile: greater
frequency, greater
intensity

Smile: lower
frequency, lower
intensity

Current Research and

Theory
East Asian
North American
Independent self
High arousal state
Enthusiastic

Interdependent self
Low arousal state
Peaceful

Current Research and Theory

Ideal
Affect
N. America
high
arousal
positive

East Asia
low arousal
positive

Current Research and

Theory
North American East Asian
Prefer more arousing
leisure activities

Prefer calmer leisure

activities

Current Research and

Theory
North American East Asian
Feel good after
positive event

Mixed feelings after

positive event

Current Research and

Theory
North American
Emotional suppression
leads to more depression

East Asian
Emotional suppression
not associated with
depression

Current Research and

Theory - Similarities
Similar physiological
response after
positive & negative
events

Positive emotions
after positive events

Current Research and

Theory - Similarities
EuropeanAmerican/Individualistic

Self esteem &

relationship harmony
emphasized
But not in equal
proportion

Self
Estee Relationship
Harmony
m

Hong Kong
Chinese/Collectivist

Self
Estee
m

Relationship
Harmony

Overview

What Are Emotions?

Historical Background
Current Research and Theory
Importance of Similarities and
Differences
Learning Appropriate Emotional
Expression

Importance of Similarities
and Differences in Emotion
Understanding
Different ways to wellbeing
Similarities between sp
ecies
What are the
similarities between
elephants and humans?

Overview

What Are Emotions?

Historical Background
Current Research and Theory
Importance of Similarities and
Differences
Learning Appropriate Emotional
Expression

Learning Appropriate
Cultural Emotional
Expression
Childrens
Storybooks
Genetic
Differences <
Value Difference
Models of Self

Photo Attribution
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