Expression of Emotion (College Board AP® Psychology): Revision Note

Universality of the expression of emotions

• The universality question asks whether emotions are expressed similarly across all cultures

  • If emotional expressions are universal, this suggests a biological, evolutionary basis

  • If emotional expressions vary across cultures, this suggests emotions are shaped by learning and social norms

• Research provides mixed evidence

Ekman's research on universal emotions

• Ekman investigated whether facial expressions for basic emotions are universally recognized across cultures

Procedure

• Photographs of people expressing specific emotions were shown to participants from a wide range of cultures

  • E.g. Western, non-Western, and pre-literate cultures with minimal contact with Western media

• Participants were asked to identify which emotion each facial expression conveyed

Findings

• Participants from diverse cultures showed high agreement for six basic emotions from facial expressions:

  • Anger, disgust, sadness, happiness, surprise, and fear

• This cross-cultural consistency was found even in isolated pre-literate societies

Conclusion

• Ekman concluded that these six basic emotions have universal facial expressions

• Facial expressions for these emotions appear to be innate rather than culturally transmitted

Mixed evidence for universality

• Despite Ekman's influential findings, research has challenged full universality:

  • Some studies have found lower agreement rates than Ekman reported, particularly when participants generate their own labels (not forced choice)

  • Research has found higher accuracy within cultures than between cultures

    • People are more accurately able to identify emotions expressed by members of their own cultural group than by members of other groups

  • Studies have found cultural differences in how emotions are interpreted and expressed

Cultural differences in the expression of emotions

Display rules

• Display rules are culturally learned norms that regulate how, when, and how intensely emotions are expressed

  • Display rules are acquired through socialization

    • E.g. open displays of grief may be expected in some cultures but restrained in others

• Display rules vary by:

  • culture: individualistic cultures (e.g. United States) encourage expression of emotions; collectivist cultures (e.g. Japan) emphasize emotional restraint

  • gender: norms for males and females differ when expressing emotions like anger, fear, vulnerability or sadness

  • age: emotional expression becomes more regulated over time as young children express emotions freely, whereas older children and adults regulate expression

  • socioeconomic class: norms about appropriate emotional expression can differ across socioeconomic groups within the same culture

Elicitors of emotion across cultures

• Elicitors are events or situations that trigger emotional responses

  • Like display rules, elicitors can differ across cultures

• The same situation may evoke different emotions in different cultural contexts

  • E.g. a competitive outcome (winning a prize) may elicit pride and open celebration in an individualistic culture, but embarrassment or discomfort in a collectivist culture where standing out from the group is discouraged

• Emotional elicitors are also shaped by individual experience, not only by cultural norms

The facial feedback hypothesis & culture

• Cultural differences in expression raise questions about the facial feedback hypothesis

• If display rules modify facial expressions in cultural contexts, they may also influence the experience of emotion

• Evidence is mixed, and this remains an open research question

Broaden-and-build theory & cultural expression

• The broaden-and-build theory intersects with cultural expression and suggests that expressing positive emotions (e.g. joy, interest):

  • makes your thinking more open (“broaden”)

  • helps you build relationships, skills, and resources over time

• In cultures where positive emotions are expressed openly people may :

  • experience more of this “broadening” effect

  • potentially build more social connections and resources

• In cultures where positive emotions are more suppressed (strong display rules) the effect might be reduced or work differently, but evidence in this area is inconclusive