Processing Emotions

Frederick J. Brigham

University of Virginia

Michele M. Brigham

Western Albemarle high School, Crozet, VA

University of Virginia

School of Continuing Education and Professional Studies

February, 2004

Processing Emotions

Emotions are often discussed but are less often clearly defined. Few people would dispute their existence and influence on human behavior. Teachers often speak of individual students experiencing frustration in their schoolwork or as having depression or as being excited as well as experiencing many other attributes that are considered to be emotions. Sometimes, educators describe their own ability to communicate emotions and maintain a positive climate in their classrooms, or of the influence of a particular student or group of students. In this document, we discuss some of the problems that are associated with research on emotions, the current definitions of emotions, the ways in which emotions are communicated, and the ways that educators can employ knowledge of emotional indicators to enhance their classroom management and instruction.

Research on Emotion in Education

Students with social behavior that is unusually and persistently dysfunctional are considered to have disabilities under special education regulations. The currently preferred tem for this condition is “emotional or behaviorally disordered” (E/BD). Despite the clear linking of emotions to the disability condition in this term, the identification and treatment of children and youths with E/BD tends to focus on the behavioral rather than the emotional aspects of the condition.

The behavioral roots of most E/BD practitioners are partly responsible for the de-emphasis of emotion in the field of E/BD. Behaviorists do not deny emotions, but they do not believe that they can be studied with the present tools of science. Earlier attempts at the study of emotion in psychology were primarily linked with Freud and the psychodynamic schools of thought. By the later part of the 20th century, most scholars had come to consider the psychodynamic explanations offered by Freud to have failed (Dawes, 2001). Psychodynamic theories posit the existence of unseen operators within the human mind. With the failure of Freudian theories to consistently explain emotions, most psychologists turned away from the study of the unseen and inferential world of emotion to the observable world of behavior. Clearly the observable world of behavior is more compatible with most scientific research tools than is the subjective world of emotion (Schutz & DeCuir, 2002).

Other reasons for the emphasis on behavior over emotion include the difficulty in defining and studying emotions themselves and the ability of humans to suppress or inhibit emotional displays (Dalgleish, Matthews, & Wood, 1999). Unlike behaviors that are overt and, by definition, observable, emotions are most often covert and must be inferred by interpretation of various cues that are not actually emotions.

Defining Emotion

There is currently no widely accepted definition of emotion (Shaver, Wu, & Schwartz, 1992). Why should an aspect of human behavior be so commonly discussed and remain so poorly defined? Part of the problem is that “Everyone knows what an emotion is until asked to give a definition. Then it seems that no one knows” (Fehr & Russell, 1984, p. 464). Another part of the problem is that most often, emotions are defined in the same way as are colors. That is, emotions are characterized by prototypical exemplars or central indicators that are surrounded by an acceptable, albeit fuzzy, range of variability (Shaver et al., 1992).

Perhaps the best way to consider fuzzy categories is to liken them to the cards with paint chips of differing shades that can be found in most building supply stores. Almost everyone can identify the color blue but as one lightens the color blue, it becomes more and more like white; as one darkens the color blue, it become more like black. When, exactly, blue fades into white or to black is a more difficult to determine. By analogy, emotional indicators are, like colors, best considered as being on continua surrounding central indicators.

The Components of Emotional Expression

The expression of emotion is characterized by the various channels or tools that humans use as cues. Common cues discussed in emotional expression include: facial cues, vocal cues, body cues, verbal cues, physiological cues and so forth (Planalp, 1998). The next sections provide a brief description of the research supporting each of the major components.

Facial Cues

“In many people’s eyes emotional expression in nearly synonymous with facial cues…” (Planalp, 1998, p. 31). Facial expression can be examined holistically (e.g., which face in an array of photographs shows a given emotion) or more systematically using a variety of coding systems. The Facial Action Coding System (Ekman & Friesen, 1978) is probably the currently most popular of these systems. The FACS breaks facial expression into 44 specific action units as well as several head and eye positions (Rosenberg, 1997).

Facial expressions appear to be associated with universal affective states. People across cultures are able to correctly identify expressions of sadness and glee although the conditions that elicit such emotions are sometimes different between cultures.

Vocal Cues

Vocal cues are clearly part of emotional communication although they are not recognized as such as consistently as are facial cues (Planalp, 1998). Interpretation of most vocal cues is based on three dimensions: loudness, pitch, and time (Pittman & Scheer, 1993). By analyzing the combination of these three dimensions, researchers have found that five specific emotional dimensions: fear, disgust, joy, sadness, and anger can be identified by vocal cues. The specific patterns of loudness, pitch and time appear to be consistent for encoding or communicating emotion and for interpreting emotion. Most people listening to a speaker whose voice becomes louder and higher pitched at the same time that the tempo of the speech increases will interpret the speaker to be feeling anger. Joy is also associated with higher pitch in the voice, faster tempo in speech, and an increase in volume, but the interaction and relative intensity of these elements is what differentiates the cues associated with the respective emotions,

Body Cues

If little research has been conducted on vocal cues, even less has been conducted on the manifestation and interpretation of body cues to emotions (Planalp, 1998). Body cues are clearly part of the repertoire of emotional communication. People who walk with a rigid posture are rarely thought to be experiencing the same emotional states, as are those who skip or dance. Likewise, drooping postures and shuffling gaits convey a very different suggestion of emotion than an upright and swaggering posture. Body movements also carry a great deal of meaning in ceremonial and hierarchical interactions (Buck, 1984). The rules of parliamentary practice provide clear indications of when to stand, sit, pray, sing and listen silently. Anyone with a military background is probably well aware of the communicative value of body movement in hierarchical exchanges. Nevertheless, little systematic research has been conducted by manipulating body movements as target variables (Planalp, 1998).

Verbal Cues

Given the use of verbal tools thus far to describe nonverbal indicators of emotion, it should come as little surprise that emotion can be conveyed directly through verbal cues. Verbal cues can covey emotion directly through the meaning of the words chosen as well as indirectly through the manner in which the words are stated. For example, the statement “This is the most interesting discussion of this topic anywhere…” can be inflected to be an affirmation of the words, a refutation of the words, or a question. The use of varied vocal tones is one aspect of effective communication of emotion.

Another aspect of verbal cues is their ability to influence the perception of emotion both by the individual and those who observe him or her. For example, using euphemisms to minimize risks as do certain airline officials when they speak of “incidents” rather than accidents or crashes (Hochschild, 1983) or teachers explaining a child’s misbehavior as acting out of frustration carry different emotional loadings than a statement that an airplane crashed killing all aboard or a student cursed and overturned a desk. Unfavorable social situations can be altered with apologies that explain behavior with intricate verbal inventions. Additionally, the perception of risk can be increased through word choice (Showalter, 1997). Thus, in addition to content and tone, verbal cues can serve different emotional purposes.

The possession of a large lexicon of words for labeling and managing emotional states may be positively associated with more effective emotional communication. Classroom teachers have long been advised to learn different forms of verbal praise to support and affirm their students’ efforts. Students with E/BD, appear to have far more limited lexicons in general than do many of their nondisabled peers. This limitation appears in part to be associated with their identification as having E/BD (Hooper, Roberts, Zeisel, & Poe, 2003).

Combinations

It is likely that only the most highly trained actors and mimes can isolate one emotional channel for use while holding all others neutral. Most people express emotions across combinations of the channels described above. Similarly, people rarely observe only one emotional channel to understand the emotions being expressed by another. Rather, most people consider information from more than one channel with the mode being four (Planalp, 1998). The most common cues are vocal, verbal, facial, and body movement with vocal being the most commonly reported cue. Most observers also report the use of context cues. Context cues are composed of facts used to understand an emotion (Planalp, 1998). For example, crying can have quite different meanings depending on whether it was observed on a wedding day or on the day the person lost his or her job.

Combinations of emotions are also employed frequently when observers attempt to label the emotions being experienced by another. Rather than employing only one word, most observers in Planalp’s research reported two or more. Sometimes the emotion words selected were from different categories of emotion suggested by Shaver, Wu, and Schwartz (1992) (e.g., fear, sadness, and anger). Choosing words from different categories was usually associated with negative emotional states, rather than positive emotional states. However, the choice of words from different emotional categories suggests that most people, at least on occasion, experience “mixed emotions” that cannot be adequately labeled with a single word.

Emotional Contagion

Thus far, this document has described emotions as individual responses to events or interpretations of others’ responses. Emotions, however, can be spread among occupants of a given environment. The term used to describe the spread of an emotional state from one individual to another is emotional contagion. Emotional contagion is defined as:

…the tendency to automatically mimic and synchronize facial expressions, vocalizations, postures, and movements with those of another person and, consequently, to converge emotionally (Hatfield, Cacioppo, & Rapson, 1992 pp. 153-154).

Hatfield, Cacioppo, and Rapson (1994) suggested that emotional contagion works through the previously described channels such that during interactions people tend to synchronize their facial expressions, vocal tones, body posture, etc. according to the behaviors exhibited by the other participant(s). The subjective experience of emotion by each individual is affected by the feedback from this mimicry that appears to be the basic mechanism by which people “catch” emotions from others. Much of the influence of this process is below the level of consciousness for most individuals. We tend to become aware of our shifting emotions only after the shift is well underway. Studying the processes of emotional contagion, however, may be a useful activity for educators who are often exposed to unpleasant emotional behavior during the discharge of their duties. By doing so, they may be better able to avoid acquiring negative emotions and also to encourage positive emotions on the part of the others around them.

Proposed Mechanisms of Emotional Contagion

Research exists (e.g., Öhman, 1999; Schachter & Singer, 1962) demonstrating that emotional interpretation of the same physiological states (e.g., rapid heartbeat and deep breathing) can be influenced by cognitive suggestion. That is, suggestions of threat or risk cause physical cues to be interpreted as fear or anxiety; however, suggestions that something good is about to happen influences the same physical cues to be interpreted as excited anticipation. It is believed that the physical, cognitive, and emotional systems interact with each other such that changes in one set of cues can precipitate changes in another. Emotional contagion appears to operate though this process. Further, the ability to mimic another’s facial, vocal, and other emotional cues appears quite early in life. Soon after birth, infants demonstrate the ability to reflect the facial expressions of other people. Newborns are often noted to begin crying when they hear another child crying (Simner, 1971). Hatfield, Cacioppo, & Rapson (1994) suggested that, through mimicking the behaviors of others, individuals affect their own subjective experience of emotion from moment to moment.

Mimicry of the emotional cues of another can occur in virtually any of the channels described earlier in this discussion. Any channel that is vulnerable to mimicry can influence the subjective experience of emotion. The more influential channels for emotional contagion appear to be the face, vocal inflections, and body postures (Hatfield et al., 1994). Thus, when one reflects the smile on another person’s face, one’s own mood tends to be elevated. Similarly, when one mimics the rigid and tense posture of another person, one’s own mood tends to become more tense and unpleasant. When researchers (e.g., Bloch, Orthous, & Santibanez, 1987; Bull, 1951) asked participants to adopt postures or hold various facial expressions, the participants began to report experiencing emotions associated with those postures or expressions.

Some of the cues used in Bull’s (1951) research included the suggestions “You are feeling heavy all over. There is a slumping feeling in your chest” for depression and “There is a feeling of relaxation and lightness in your whole body” for joy (p. 79). Not only did the subjects report the experience of the emotions associated with these postures, they also reported great difficulty in complying with the instruction to experience emotions incompatible with the postures while maintaining the posture. Thus, the physical expression of emotion and the subjective experience of emotion appear to be linked so that they influence each other.