Emotion¾or affect, is an evaluative response that typically includes some combination of physiological arousal, subjective experience (positive, negative, or ambivalent), and behavioral expression.
Six basic emotions:
Joy, anger, surprise, fear,
sadness, and disgust.
Preceding events¾the environmental circumstances and individual reactions that have a strong impact on particular emotional experiences.
Feeling rules¾particular cultural norms and regulations about how to feel in particular situations.
Source: Shiraev E. and Levy, D. Cross-Cultural Psychology. (2007). Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Display rules¾patterns of emotional expression considered appropriate within a particular culture, age, or social group.
Emotion Recognition¾The process of identification, description, and explanation of an emotional expression.
Source: Shiraev E. and Levy, D. Cross-Cultural Psychology. (2007). Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Emotion as a process:
Preceding event
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Physiological response
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Assessment of the emotion
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Expressive behavior (facial expression, reaction, etc.)
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Change in some element of cognitive functioning (judgment).
Source: Shiraev E. and Levy, D. Cross-Cultural Psychology. (2007). Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Physiological Arousal. There are significant cross-cultural similarities in the underlying physiological mechanisms of emotions. Universally, we detect stimuli from our surroundings and our body. The signal then goes to the brain. The amygdala serves as the brain’s ‘emotional computer’: it assesses the affective significance of the stimulus. Therefore, irrelevant stimuli may cause no emotion. Then the hypothalamus, as a part of the limbic system, activates sympathetic and endocrine responses related to emotion. The brain’s cortex also plays several roles with respect to emotion, particularly in the appraisal of stimuli. Moreover, the right hemisphere is believed to be responsible for the facial displays of emotion. Current research also suggests that pleasant emotions are associated with the activation of the left frontal cortex, whereas unpleasant emotions are mostly associated with the activation of the right frontal lobe.
Source: Shiraev E. and Levy, D. Cross-Cultural Psychology. (2007). Boston: Allyn and Bacon