Culture of Emotions

As we study emotions, we notice that the same emotions are experienced by all human beings; however the events that evoke them or the reactions they cause differ as we cross the cultural and gender lines. Culture and gender, likewise, play a role in the emotions we feel, how they are evoked, or how we express them. Although emotion recognition was thought of as largely universal, we have noticed differences between the way males and females display emotions. Usually, people of both genders feel the same types of emotions and the same intensity in during the same events, but it is the way we express them that differs across the gender line of one culture, and this causes a lot of stereotypes. It is not that women do not feel the same range of anger as men, but they are thought to not express such emotion. When angry, for example, women are then more likely to cry then to show any other more aggressive behavior. In the March 2000 issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly, studies are explained that work as evidence for this gender bias in emotions. The studies identified gender stereotypes of emotions, and the relationship between gender stereotypes and the interpretation of emotionally expressive behavior. Participants of these studies believed women experienced and expressed majority of the emotions studied - such as sadness, fear, sympathy - more often than men. Exceptions included anger and pride, which were thought to be experienced and expressed more often by men. In another study discussed in the issue, participants interpreted photographs of adults’ uncertain anger/sadness facial expressions in a stereotype-consistent manner. The results found that women were rated as sadder and less angry than men. Even definite anger expressed by women was rated as a mixture of anger and sadness. The discussion of these studies focused on the role of gender stereotypes in adults ’interpretations of emotional expressions, and the implications to social relations. Gender bias plays a huge role in the difference of emotion in genders. The two examples above, show two of the important roles and display rules that we feel we need to follow. The first example shows us that even though we feel the same emotions and at the same rate, we are often labeled differently on how often we feel a specific emotion compared to the opposite gender. On the other hand, when presented with an emotion that could be described as anger or sadness, women are stuck and labeled as sad, while men are labeled as angry. (Plant, Hyde, Keltener and Devine)                                                    

Emotional differences occur not only between males and females, but between different cultures and ethnic backgrounds as well. In order to explore how differences across cultures may affect the universal processes involved in expressing and understanding emotions, in 1972 Ekman conducted his  five-culture study. Participants viewed photographs expressing emotions, and for each they selected an emotion that they thought was the correct answer - from six possible choices. Although this study is not the strongest evidence, as guessing entirely at random would yield one correct answer out of six, it provides us with plenty of support and new ideas that started out the current research on this topic. We could notice an interesting fact from this experiment, the group with the highest performance is also the same group from which the experimental stimuli originated. All participants  in the study viewed photographs of American facial expressions, therefore  Americans were the only participants of the study to view members of their own cultural group (in-group). Everyone else in the study judged expressions from a foreign group (out-group). It was interesting that the South American participants were only slightly less accurate than U.S. participants, whereas the difference in performance was larger for the Japanese, who were the most culturally distant. Therefore, the in-group advantage is lower when groups are nearer geographically or have greater cross-cultural contact with each other,. The implication that comes from this is that over time, participants appear to learn how to understand the emotions of people from foreign cultures, the more they interact with them.   

Another example is a research conducted recently, which is holds a better argument for culture diversity in emotions. A study published in the April 2007 issue of The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology is a result from a collaborative study between Masaki Yuki (Hokkaido University), William Maddux (INSEAD) and Takahiko Masuda (University of Alberta). This study reveals that in cultures where it is normal to have your emotions under strict control, such as Japan, focus is placed on the eyes to interpret emotions. On the other hand, in cultures where emotion is openly expressed, such as the United States, the focus is on the mouth to interpret emotion. Across two studies, computerized icons and human images were used to compare how Japanese and American cultures interpreted images, which conveyed a range of emotions. Findings go against the popular theory that the facial expressions of basic emotions can be universally recognized. Culture plays a very strong role in determining how people perceive emotions, and this fact needs to be considered when interpreting facial expression.

A very interesting point brought up by the study is present below:

"These cultural differences are even noticeable in computer emoticons, which are used to convey a writer's emotions over email and text messaging. Consistent with the research findings, the Japanese emoticons for happiness and sadness vary in terms of how the eyes are depicted, while American emoticons vary with the direction of the mouth. In the United States the emoticons : ) and : - ) denote a happy face, whereas the emoticons :( or : - ( denote a sad face. However, Japanese tend to use the symbol (^_^) to indicate a happy face, and (;_;) to indicate a sad face."

The Gift of Fear

Emotion is a state of feeling which involves thoughts, physiological changes, and a behavior or an outward expression. Emotion is usually associated with mood, temperament, personality, disposition or motivation.

It is an individual's state of mind that involves environmental and biochemical (internal and external) influences. Emotion comes in many forms and ranges, and has many reasons associated with it. But could emotion be an adaptive feature for survival? Theories of emotion, based on evolution are that of survival. 

As animals we once lived in the wild, and along with monkeys and tigers, we needed something of an advantage to react quicker and better to dangerous situations. We needed emotions in order to react quickly to dangerous stimuli. For example, if  faced with a tiger, it was better to be rocked with a fear strong enough, that it would trigger a rush of blood and adrenaline, opposed to just sitting around and thinking about the threat. Emotion helped us become quick in actions that could have saved our lives. We developed an emotional system because it could induce quick responses to danger.

But now you can ask, how would emotions allow humans to survive and be successful in the world? Aggression and the desire to survive,  helped animals rise to the top of  the food chain. In order to create a system that works hard to survive, there is a need to make it conscious and emotional, then it will want to keep itself around. Human beings, being  the most self-conscious animals, are invested and crafty in the need for survival. We developed basic emotions, such as fear, anger and happiness, like the other animals, but we also developed a more complex rational system too, in which we could  imagine our own past, and future selves. It was the ability to reason about the old, as well as our future selves, that helped us set traps, and not just run from predators, and allowed us to dominate the food chain. Emotions evidently evolved to motivate social behaviors that helped us adapt in the ancestral environment, but they helped us even in more modern times. For example, the emotion of spite works against the individual, but also helps establish an individual's reputation as someone to be feared. Shame and pride can motivate behaviors that help maintain a person's standing in a community, and self-esteem can be an estimate of a person's status.

Alzheimer's Diesese: The Forgetting

Alzheimer's disease is a serious brain disease; which has symptoms that relate to memory impairment.  The onset of symptoms is gradual, but its progression is continuous and irreversible. Disruptions of episodic memory are the earliest symptoms of the disease, which greatly worsen over time. Main symptoms of the disease also include problems with focusing attention, altered personality, difficulty speaking and understanding language or impaired movement. Drugs may slow down the process of Alzheimer’s disease, but there is no cure. The disease inevitably leads to death.

Alzheimer’s disease develops in series of stages, and first the medial temporal lobes in your brain are affected, in particular, the hippocampus. The medial temporal lobe holds the main parts of your episodic memory, and it is the first area of the brain to show pathological changes. The hippocampus is involved in the formation of new memories. First stages of the disease,  can seem to be a normal part of aging, but they are not. After working its way through the temporal lobes, the disease stretches out to the parietal lobes, and other brain regions. On scientifical terms, the brain suffers damage and dies off because amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles start to form. The person that is diagnosed with this assured death sentence can see changes in themselves only in the early stages. In the end, it is the family and friends of the patient that have to live with their loved one loosing themselves before their eyes.

In the video: The Forgetting, lives of people living with the disease, and their loved ones, were played out in front of our eyes. This made the disease more then just a health problem that will never effect us. It showed families, that were given this tragic life sentence. In the video, we met a family that had Alzheimer's running in their "genes". The fear that they had to live with, losing themselves and not knowing who they are anymore, makes a memorable impact on anyone. Family members of Alzheimer's patients were given the hardest roles to bear. "I'm not dieing" said one of the patients to her sister, "I'm disappearing before your eyes." Family members recalled that their loved ones could not remember what was spoken to them, they would do the same things over and over again, and often would turn aggressive and be very frustrated that they could not do anything but let this horrible disease take over. patients feel like they do not have any thoughts in their head.The disease literally robs you of who you are, and the little time that remains the family wants to spend cherishing the part of the "old you" that is still left. In the end, this disease provides you with the longest and saddest form of a goodbye.