Chapter 9 & 10 Emotions and Communication PDF

Chapter 9 & 10 Emotions and Communication  Introduction Emotions Colour Our Experiences Emotions inform our identity, relationships, and behaviours, giving meaning to events. Humans come into the world with a biologically innate system that allows...

Chapter 9 & 10 Emotions and Communication  Introduction Emotions Colour Our Experiences Emotions inform our identity, relationships, and behaviours, giving meaning to events. Humans come into the world with a biologically innate system that allows for emotions Emotions are transient, biopsychosocial reactions to events that have consequences for our welfare and that potentially require an immediate behavioural response. Emotions are adaptive because they aid survival and allows us to act immediately without thinking too much Emotions are elicited as we scan our environments. We evaluate events—internal as well as external—to see if they have consequences to our welfare. Emotions are quick; they last only a few seconds or minutes. They are different From moods, which last longer—hours or days. Emotions are functional; they help prepare our bodies for action, they communicate our states and intentions to others. Figure 9.1 - A Model of Emotion Elicitation When emotions are triggered, they recruit a coordinated system of components that include subjective experience (feelings); expressive behaviour such as facial expressions or verbal utterances; physiological reactions such as increased heart rate or faster breathing; and cognition—specific patterns of thinking. People of all cultures have emotions and for the most part have mainly the same types of emotions. Thus, emotion is a human universal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JChxT9Yv2iw  Basic Emotions Anger is a basic emotion. But humans don’t just get angry; they are sometimes irritated, aggravated, agitated, annoyed, grouchy, grumpy, frustrated, hostile, exasperated, mad, enraged, or furious. Not only do humans have fear, but they also become anxious, nervous, tense, uneasy, worried, alarmed, shocked, frightened, horrified, terrorized, or mortified. Self-conscious emotions, which include shame, guilt, pride, and embarrassment. Disgust is especially interesting; helps to avoid or expel nasty objects (e.g., through vomiting), humans have the interpersonal version of disgust, in which we can be disgusted at others (i.e., a moral version of disgust). Figure 9.5 - The Seven Basic Emotions and Their Universal Expressions Source: David Matsumoto, Ph.D. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hr58Yu0yDs  Other Sources of Evidence for the Universality of Basic Emotions and their Possible Biological Bases There is universality in: 1. Emotion recognition 2. Physiological reactions 3. Subjective emotional experience 4. Emotion antecedents 5. Emotion appraisal processes 6. Universality in coherence among emotion response systems  Emotion antecedents: The events or situations that elicit or trigger an emotion in Cultures Many studies have provided evidence for the universality of emotion antecedents Most frequent elicitors of happiness across cultures were “relationships with friends,” “temporary meetings with friends,” and “achievement situations.” The most frequent elicitors of anger were “relationships” and “injustice.” The most frequent elicitors of sadness were “relationships” and “death.” These findings supported the view that emotion antecedents are universal across cultures.  Cultural Influences on Emotion Cultures provide the necessary coordination and organization to maintain social complexities – Create rules, guidelines, values, and norms concerning regulation of emotion – Cultural regulation of emotion occurs via: Regulating biologically-based basic emotions Constructing unique emotional experiences Constructing unique concepts, meanings, attitudes, values, and beliefs about emotion  Figure 9.6 - Role of Culture in Regulating Emotions to Achieve Social Order Cultural Influences on Emotion Culture influences, regulates, and manages the biologically based, innate emotion systems humans come to the world with In order to maintain social order, cultures create rules, guidelines, values, and norms concerning the regulation of emotion because emotions are the root and primary motivators of behavior  Cultural Display Rules Culturally prescribed rules that govern how universal emotions can be expressed Can modify expressions by: 1. Expressing less than actually felt (deamplification) 2. Expressing more than actually felt (amplification) 3. Showing nothing (neutralization) 4. Showing emotion but with another emotion to comment on it (qualification) 5. Masking or concealing feelings (masking) 6. Showing emotion when not felt (simulation)  Figure 9.8 - Relationship between Individualism– Collectivism and Display Rules Endorsing Expressivity Collectivistic cultures are inclined to be "less expressive", overall expressive regulation for all emotions is central to the preservation of social order in collectivistic cultures. Individualism was associated with "higher expressivity norms in general"  Language in Communication and Culture Language: A Universal Human Capacity  Essential for understanding cultures and facilitating shared intentionality.  Aids in communicating intentions and beliefs quickly and efficiently.  The existence of human cultures is fundamentally linked to the development of language, including unique languages that reinforce cultural identity. Verbal and Nonverbal Communication 1. Verbal language is the prominent form of communication.  Evolution of human cultures coincided with the evolution of ability for verbal language. 2. Nonverbal behaviours help in understanding meaning and emotional states and include: Facial expressions visually convey emotions Nonverbal vocal cues (tone, pitch, intonation, pauses, and silence) Gestures and body language (posture, movement, and interpersonal distance) Gaze and visual attention: foster engagement and understanding Each culture creates its own unique language. Language differences help reinforce culture Understanding the interplay between language and emotions enriches our communication skills and cultural awareness.  Culture and Gestures Are gestures that a specific to your culture? Gestures - Hand movements used to illustrate speech or to convey verbal meaning – Speech illustrators: Nonverbal behaviors that accompany speech Used to illustrate or highlight speech – Emblems: Culture-specific gestures that convey meaning without words Cultures differ in the amount and type of illustrative gestures  Culture and Gaze Gaze: Powerful nonverbal behavior with evolutionary roots in animal behavior – Associated with dominance, power, aggression, affiliation, and nurturance Cultures create rules concerning gazing and visual attention – Behavioral tendencies such as aggression and affiliation are important for group stability Countries that followed contact cultures engage in more gazing – Gaze is used as a nonverbal sign of respect Gaze is often used as a nonverbal sign of respect, and because different cultures produce different rules concerning gaze, respect is conveyed differently with gaze. In the many Western countries, individuals are taught to “look the other person in the eye,” or to “look at me when you’re talking.” In these cultures, direct gaze when talking is a sign of respect. In other cultures, however, gazing directly can be a sign of disrespect, and looking away or even looking down are signs of respect. These cultural differences lend themselves very easily to cultural misunderstandings.  Culture, Interpersonal Space, and Touch Proxemics: Use of space in interpersonal interactions – Levels - Intimate, personal, social, and public Interpersonal distance regulates intimacy by controlling sensory exposures Haptics: Non-verbal behavior involving touch Violations of space and touch produce aversive consequences 1. Latin American individuals tend to interact more closely than do students of European backgrounds (Forston & Larson, 1968). 2. Indonesians tend to sit closer than Australians (Noesjirwan, 1977, 1978). 3. Italians interact more closely than either Germans or Americans (Shuter, 1977). 4. Colombians interact at closer distances than do Costa Ricans (Shuter, 1976). 5. When interacting with someone from their same culture, Japanese people sat the farthest away, Venezuelans the closest, with Americans in the middle (Sussman & Rosenfeld, 1982); interestingly, in the same study, foreigners who spoke in English adopted the American conversational distance compared to when speaking with others from their home country in their native language  Did you ever experience a miscommunication incident that was caused by cultural difference? Potential Obstacles to Effective Intercultural Communication https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRq-mWJhjB4  Improving Intercultural Communication Mindfulness: Allows people to be conscious of their own habits, mental scripts, and cultural expectations concerning communication – Components that affect intercultural effectiveness Motivational, knowledge, and skill factors Uncertainty reduction: Efforts to reduce the level of uncertainty and anxiety that one feels when decoding intercultural messages One must be aware of his/her face and its maintenance – Face: Concerns with one’s appearance in public or reputation, and the potential embarrassment or shame associated with a threat to that appearance Emotion regulation – Involves the ability to control one’s negative emotional reactions – Enables one to engage in a more constructive intercultural process https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifu1adsLi_0  Bilingual Advantage for Cognitive Performance Studies demonstrate that bilinguals selectively attend to stimuli better than monolinguals – It was found that early exposure to a multilingual environment promotes effective communication – Bilingual infants visually track silent video records of adult bilinguals switching languages, but monolingual infants cannot Bilingual advantages in cognitive functioning either do not exist or are restricted to very specific circumstances  Conclusion Emotions are universally expressed and recognized – Elicit expressive behavior, physiology, cognitions, and action potential in all cultures Cultures exert profound influences on emotions – Regulate basic emotions by influencing relative frequencies, types of triggers, and dimensions Some universal emotions are biology-based and others require higher-order cognitive processes  Conclusion Language plays a critical role in the transmission, maintenance, and expression of culture Culture influences language, and language symbolizes what culture deems important Communication occurs verbally and non-verbally – Understanding culture–language relationship is an important step for intercultural communicators – Understanding nonverbal behavior is important for appreciating cultural communication differences – Emotion regulation and mindfulness enhances intercultural sensitivity