Types of emotions and senses of man. Feel different: what our emotions depend on

Employees of the American Institute of Public Opinion Gallup asked people from 148 countries, whether they experienced 5 positive or negative emotions for the previous day. Five negative experiences included: anger, anxiety, stress, sadness and physical pain. The number of five positive included: a feeling of rest, the feeling that you treat you with respect, pleasure, laughter, and the occupation of something interesting.

Representatives of Latin America took the dominant position in the list the most emotional states of the world. On average, 6 out of 10 residents in each of these countries reported positive or negative emotions experienced per day preceding a survey. Post-Soviet states are leading in the list of least emotional countries. Only 5 out of 10 of their residents reported that they were experienced by any of the feelings of the survey authors. Russia in the "non-modest" ranking got 8th place. The first is from Bangladesh.

But what does a dozen countries look like, where the most emotional people live.

In this small republic, 57% of respondents answered about good or bad experiences. Not only the most peaceful and amphibious people live here, but also the most peace-loving people, because there is no army in Costa Rica. The country (the only one in all of America) refused the armed forces back in 1948.

9. Colombia.

It has the same as Costa Rica, the percentage of people positively responding to questions about the experiences of positive and negative emotions. This country gave the world such passionate and incendiary dances and music as salsa, porro, Valnato and Kumbia.

8. Cambodia

In the three countries whose name begins on "K", and the emotionality rating of residents is 57%, and Cambodia is included. This country, surviving the mode of Paul Pot, now enjoys a peaceful life. It attracts tourists through plenty of attractions, low prices, as well as one of the corners for sex tourism. However, still in the land of Cambodia lies the set of mines remaining since the time of the civil war "Red Khmerov".

7. Iraq.

Political and religious instability, frequent terrorist attacks and destruction do not contribute to the peace of mind of local residents. Of the total number of surveyed 58% of Iraqis stated that they recently experienced this or that strong emotion.

6. Guatemala

The hot tropical climate and 33 volcanoes, of which 3 are still dangerous, does not contribute to the cold, nordic nature. Therefore, 58% of Guatemalas are experiencing a variety of bright emotions, which they conscientiously informed Gallup experts.

5. Nicaragua

The Republic of Nicaragua is located between Costa Rica in the south and Honduras. "Under my side" Warm Ocean, all year round the temperature is held up to 32 degrees. Many holidays give the population a reason for joy, and life here is practically pastoral. Most of the locals (58%) are as emotional as Iraqis, and Guatemalants.

4. Filippines

The diplomat from the Philippines told Gallup, why most of the Philipps (namely, 58%) temperament. He explained that the focus of the Philipps is interpersonal relationships, which encourages not only experiencing emotions more intensively, but also be more open in their expression.

3. Ecuador

Residents of this state are calm, slow and proud. But all calm evaporates, it is worth entering the local market. There you will see the entire storm of emotions in the eternal battle of buyers and sellers called "Buy cheaper and sell more expensive." Fast Ecuadorians get 3rd place in the rating of the most emotional countries (58%).

2. El Salvador

The manifestation of strong feelings (59% of the inhabitants are experiencing them) four factors are facilitated: hot Indyo-Spanish blood, a very large population density, a low level of income and a high crime rate.

1. Bolivia

Live here the most expressive people in the world. 59% of the inhabitants of Bolivia reported that they experienced joy, anger, pleasure and other emotions. The majority of the country's population (70% according to the IMF) are beyond the poverty line, many chew and drink tea from the leaves of the Coca plant, which suppress feelings of hunger and thirst, cause tide of strength and improve the mood.

It is difficult to imagine life devoid of emotions and feelings. We appreciate pleasure when watching a sports match, pleasure from touched a lover, joy, divided with friends at a party while watching a film or when visiting a nightclub. Even our negative and unpleasant feelings are important to us - we will pek when we don't have our beloved, we are burning, if you die close, I'm angry when we are insulting, we feel fear in an unfamiliar situation, we feel a shame or a sense of guilt when everyone becomes aware of our sins . Emotions are cleaned by our life impressions. They inform us about who we are in what state our relationship with other people tells us certain forms of behavior. Emotions fill the events meaning. Do not be emotions, these events would turn into dry boring facts of our biography.

Emotions distinguish us from computers and other mechanisms. Technological progress creates mechanisms capable of increasingly reproducing human thinking processes. The current computers perform many operations much more efficiently. However, no, even the most perfect computer is not able to feel the way we, and no technology in the power to force it to do this (in any case, not yet in the forces).

The world of emotions emphasizes the huge differences between people. To the question, as we classify and call emotions, we express and feel them, every person in one or another culture will answer differently. These differences largely determine the diversity that we see and, more importantly, we feel, watching people in different regions and countries.

This chapter examines the differences and similarities of human emotions in cultures. We will begin to study the issue of universality for different cultures of the emotions and their expressions and the heterogeneity of others. Then we will discuss general cultural and specific aspects of emotional perception, emotional experience, emotional prerequisites (those events that cause emotions), the process of evaluating emotions and, finally, concepts and linguistic emotion designations. We will find that at least some, relatively small, a set of emotions is universal in all human cultures and ensures the similarity of people in all emotional aspects: in expression, perception, experience, prerequisites, assessment and concepts. Having this common base, culture affects us, forming our emotional world, and leads to similarity and difference in experiences. Researchers of emotions will have to summarize both versatility and cultural differences in emotions.

Culture and expression of emotions

Our study of the effect of culture on human emotions will begin with the question of expressing emotions. That is, several reasons. First, the cross-cultural study of the expression of emotions, especially the Mimici, underlies modern studies of emotions, both cross-cultural and limited by the framework of a separate culture. Thus, cross-cultural study of the external expression of emotions has important historical importance in this field of psychology. Secondly, cross-cultural studies of mimic expressions of emotions convincingly demonstrated that there is a set of facial expressions, universal for all human cultures. Other studies suggest their biological conience. Therefore, it is important to accurately determine the biological substrates of emotions for all people regardless of culture before establishing a cultural impact on emotional processes that may be congenital. Thus, we begin with an overview of universal expressions of emotions on the face.

Universality of the Mimic Expression of Emotions

Charles Darwin about emotions

Although the philosophers argue over the centuries and argue about the possible universal expression of emotions on the face, most modern cross-cultural studies of this topic goes back to the works of Charles Darwin, in particular, to the evolutionary theory described in his work "On the origin of species". Darwin suggested that people occur from other, more primitive animals, such as human-like monkeys and chimpanzees, and that the types of our behavior that have reached the present time were selected in the process of evolutionary adaptation.

In the next work, "the expression of emotions in humans and animals" Darwin suggested that the expression of emotions on the face, as well as other types of behavior, is congenital and this is a consequence of evolutionary adaptation. People, argued Darwin, equally express emotions on the faces, regardless of race and culture. Moreover, the same expressions of emotions on the face can be found in other species such as gorillas.

Early studies of emotions

In the early 1950s, a number of studies were conducted, testing the ideas of Darwin on the universality of expressing emotions. Unfortunately, in many of these studies there are serious methodological disadvantages, so it is quite difficult to draw conclusions on the basis of their results.

At the same time, famous anthropologists, such as Margaret MID and Ray Bestistell, proved that emotions may not be universal; These scientists suggested that the expressions of emotions on the face should be absorbed like a language. Since languages \u200b\u200bare distinguished, then the expressions of the face in different cultures are not the same.

According to Darwin, the Mimic expressions of emotions are simultaneously communicative and adaptive importance and contribute to the survival of species, providing a person with information about its own state and interacting with the environment, as well as supplying social information to other community members.

Universality studies

So it lasted until the 1960s, when psychologists Paul Ekman and Wallis Frize and regardless of them, Carroll Izard conducted a number of methodologically correct research, put the end of these disputes. Inspired by the works of Silvanom Tomkins, these scientists conducted a series of studies of four different types, which are now called Research universality. Since the first publication, many scientists have repeated similar experiments in various countries and cultures and obtained results confirming the correctness of the conclusions of Economy and Frisena.

Experiments in industrial cultures

At the first stage of experiments conducted jointly with Tomkins, Ekman and Frisen selected photos of the Mimic expressions of emotions, which, in their opinion, could be universal. Researchers have shown these photos subjects in five different countries (USA, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Japan) and asked the subjects to determine each expression. Scientists assumed that universal expressions displayed in photographs will be called the same, if the expression is specific to culture, representatives of different countries will have disagreements.

The results obtained discovered a very high level of similarity of the interpretation of six emotions - anger, disgust, fear, joy, sorrow and surprise - from representatives of all five countries. Izard conducted a similar study in other countries and received similar results.

The problem of these studies was that cultures covered by the experiment were written, industrial and relatively modern. Therefore, the subjects may have learned how to interpret expressions displayed in the photos. The presence in these cultures of mass media - television, radio, presses - even more increased this opportunity. In addition, the study was criticized for the use of visual incentives common to the cultures under study.

Study of crops that do not have written

To answer this criticism, Ekman, Sorenson and Frisen conducted similar experiments in two innovable tribes of New Guinea. Given the features of the subjects, Ekman and his colleagues were forced to somewhat change the terms of the experiment. Instead of using emotional concepts, they allowed the subject to choose stories that would best describe facial expressions. When the subjects with New Guinea were asked to identify emotions displayed in photographs, researchers received results, very close to the results of the tests from written industrial societies. Thus, the answers of Papuans with New Guinea, belonged to the safe culture, gave the second source of evidence in favor of universality.

Ekman with colleagues went even further. In their experiments on the islands of New Guinea, they asked different subjects to portray emotions that can worry. Photos of these expressions were delivered to the United States and presented with American subjects, none of which had never seen Papuans of New Guinea. They were asked to designate emotions displayed in the photos. Researchers again received results, very close results of the first series of experiments. Evaluation of emotional expressions, captured at the photos of Papuans of New Guinea, belonged to the safe culture, became the third source in favor of evidence of versatility.

Spontaneity of the expression of universal emotions

All studies conducted were based on assessments of the expression of the emotions of the face and the suggestions of scientists that the tests equally would appreciate the emotions displayed in the photographs in the event that their expressions are universal. However, there was still not permitted question, whether universal expressions of emotions experienced spontaneously appear on the people of people. To answer him, Ekman and Frisen conducted a study in the United States and Japan. They showed the test incentives that cause strong stress, and the hidden camera was filmed by expressions of their individuals, while the participants in the experiments did not suspect the shooting.

The following video analysis showed that the Americans and the Japanese are in generally equally expressing emotions on the face and these expressions exactly correspond to the expressions recognized by universal in an analytical study. So the results of spontaneous expressions became the fourth source of evidence of the original number of universal emotions.

Other confirmations of universality

Although these four series of experiments give good evidence and their results are traditionally included in the research on universality of emotions, such a base is not enough for solid support of the thesis of versatility. Large studies that include experiments with primates and blind children also support the arguments in favor of universality. Research with primates confirm the thesis of Darwin on the evolutionary basis of the expression of emotions on the face. Experiments with the blind children show that the visual assimilation does not cause the similarity of the expressions of persons within one culture or in different cultures. Together, these studies create a solid evidence base, convincingly showing that the expressions of emotions on the face are universal and biologically congenital.

Experiments with the blind children show that the visual assimilation does not cause the similarity of the expressions of persons within one culture or in different cultures.

Summary

If these findings are true, they have far-reaching consequences. They suggest that all people are born with the ability to express the same set of emotions among the same ways. Moreover, universality introduces similarities to other aspects of emotions. All people have the opportunity to experience these emotions in the same way many typologically similar events and psychological situations cause the same emotions in all people in different cultures. In short, the researchers suggest that we all be born with the ability to worry, express and perceive the same main number of emotions.

Of course, we experience a wide range of emotions that are much more varied of that series of emotions that are recognized by universal: love, hatred, jealousy, pride and many others. The existence of major emotions, however, suggests that in combination with our experience, personal and sociocultural environment create an infinite number of colors and shades and paint our emotional world. As seven kaleidoscope colors, the existence of basic emotions assumes that cultures create, form and color our emotional life, while the basic emotions become a starting point for the formation of other emotions.

At the same time, the existence of basic universal emotions does not mean at all that cultures may not differ from one other ways of expression, perception and experiences of emotions. In fact, many studies that we consider in this chapter show that cultures have a significant impact on all aspects of emotions. But the versatility of emotions assumes that the main emotions provide cultures for the foundation from which the creation and formation of other emotions can begin. This provision is important to keep in mind when we consider research on cultural differences of emotions.

Cultural differences of facial expressions: Emotion expression rules

Despite the fact that the expressions of emotions on the face can be universal, many of us felt uncertainty when they interpreted the expressions of individuals of representatives of another cultural medium. At the same time, we can ask a question if those surrounding our own emotions are perceived as we express them. Although we notice that the expression of emotions in people from another cultural environment is like our expressions, still more often we notice the differences between us. These impressions correspond to the typical ideas of scientists about the Mimic expressions of just a few decades ago. In the same way, our daily experience and experience of such well-known scientists, as Margaret MID, can make us believe that human expressions of emotions differ in different cultures if the openings of many researchers speak about the opposite.

Cultural rules for expressing emotions

Ekman and Frisen pondered over this issue and to explain the contradiction, offered the concept of cultural rules for expressing emotions. They suggested that cultural differences are due to certain rules dictating how universal emotions should be expressed. These rules determine the compliance of the expression of each emotion by one or another social circumstances. The rules are absorbed at an early age and dictate how universal emotions will be modified depending on the social situation. To the mature age in the course of long practice, these rules become automatic.

Experimental confirmation of the existence of cultural rules for expressing emotions

Ekman and Frisen conducted a study to confirm the existence of cultural rules of expression and find out their role in the emergence of cultural differences in expressing emotions. In the study described above, the American and Japanese participants of the experiments showed films causing strong stress, and at this time of their facial expressions were recorded on video. In fact, this experiment was arranged in two situations. In the first, as we have already described, the subjects simply presented incentives. In the second situation in the room, the experimenter was part of the older and status and asked the subjects to view the film again, but now in the presence of a researcher who will observe them. The reactions of the subjects were recorded again on the video.

An analysis of the record showed that the Americans also showed negative emotions - disgust, fear, sadness and anger. And the Japanese, without exception, smiled in this situation. Such data indicate how universal, biologically congenital expressions of emotions interact with the circumstances of the culture of the expression rules form the corresponding emotional expressions. In the first case, when the cultural rules did not act, the Americans and the Japanese equally expressed their emotions. In the second situation, the implementation of the rules of expression forced the Japanese to smile, so as not to insult the older and the status of the researcher, despite the fact that they were undoubtedly tested negative emotions. These discoveries are especially important because in the first experiment, when similarities were found between cultures, and in the second experiment, when differences were found, the tests were the same.

Mechanism of the Mimic Expression of Emotions

Thus, the expression of emotions on the face is subjected to the double influence of universal, biologically congenital factors and a given culture of the learned rules of expression. In case of emotion to the program of affects of the person, where information about the prototypes of mimic configurations is stored for each of the universal emotions, a message is received. These prototypes and make up the universal side of the expression of emotions, being biologically congenital. At the same time, the message enters the brain area where the learned rules of the cultural expression of emotions are stored. The expression appearing as a result, simultaneously reflects the influence of two factors. When the rules for expressing emotions are not involved, universal emotions expressions appear on the face. However, depending on the social circumstances, the rules of expression can have an impact, neutralizing, reinforcing, relaxing, limiting or masking universal expressions. This mechanism explains how and why people may differ in their expressions of emotions, despite the fact that we all have the same base of expression of emotions.

Modern cross-cultural studies of emotional expression and emotion expression regulations

After the first publication of universality research with the use of the concept and experimental confirmation of the cultural rules of expression in science, an interesting phenomenon was observed: the data were accepted as well that they discovered the path to research on emotions in all areas of psychology. Soon after publishing research on universality, scientists sent their efforts to develop methods for measuring facial expressions without support for self-esteem, which are not always reliable. Having in the hands of such powerful tools created by Ekman and Friesen, such as the system of coding of mimic actions, scientists began to conduct intensive studies in other areas of psychology - childish, social, physiological, as well as in the psychology of personality and pathopsychology. Studies on this topic have become such common, which has passed the years before the cross-cultural study of the expression of emotions was resumed. Therefore, no matter how funny, despite the importance of previous cross-cultural work on emotional expression, from the beginning of the 1970s until the end of the 1980s and early 1990s, in this area there is actually a significant gap.

Comfort and discomfort

In recent years, a number of interesting cross-cultural experiments on the expression of emotions have been conducted, significantly expanding our knowledge about the impact of culture on emotional expressions and the rules of expression. For example, Stefan, Stefan and de Vargas compared emotional expressions from Americans and Kostarikans, offering subjects from both countries to evaluate 38 emotions in terms of comfort and discomfort, which they would have experienced, expressing these emotions in a family circle or in a circle of unfamiliar people. The respondents were also filled with self-assessment scales, measured independence and dependence of the expression of emotions (see chapter 3), and also evaluated positive and negative emotions.

The results showed that the Americans felt more comfortable than the Kostarikans, both in independent and in the interdependent expression of emotions. Kostarikans felt significantly less comfortable in the expression of negative emotions.

Expression of emotions in the USA

The researchers also recorded the existence of cultural differences in expressing emotions among ethnic groups in the United States. In the work of Matsumoto, the Americans were divided into four major ethnic groups: Euro-, Afro-, Latino and Americans of Asian origin. Participants of the survey were proposed to assess the admissibility of universal facial expressions in various social situations.

The results showed that white consider contempt more permissible than Asians, disgust - more permissible than black and latino, anger - more permissible than Latin Americans, and sadness as more permissible than black and Asians. In addition, white Americans consider an expression of emotions in public and in the presence of children, more permissible than black, Asian and Latin Americans, as well as with randomly familiar people are more permissible than black, Asian and Latin Americans, in the presence of younger status, more permissible What negros and latino. It is interesting, however, that in another part of the experiment, the Negros reported that anger express significantly more often than whites, Asians and Latin Americans.

In another study, it was found that in love relationships Americans of Philippine origin express emotions more intensively than the Americans of Japanese origin.

Differences in stereotypes of emotion expression

Two recent interesting studies demonstrate cultural differences in the stereotypes of emotion expression. In the first study, the subjects from Australia and Japan were assessed as they express emotions in 12 situations and what they think about a person from another country, which expressed the same emotions. Both groups considered Australians more expressive than the Japanese, in the expression of positive emotions. Both groups appreciated the opposite group more expressive in the expression of negative emotions.

In a more extensive study of 2900 college students from 26 countries, they proposed to evaluate themselves on the basis of emotional expressiveness. Interestingly, these researchers discovered that residents of warmer, southern areas were considered expressative in more cold northern regions.

Expression control studies

Although studies have found many differences in various cultures in their emotional expressiveness, it is still not entirely clear how emotional expressions are controlled when the rules of expression begin to operate. Two recent studies are partly explaining these processes. In the first experiment, men and women from the USA and England filled four emotional control scales: repetition, prohibition, deterrence of aggression and impulsiveness. Men Americans more often resorted to repeat and prohibit what men-British. American women more often forbade themselves to show certain emotions than the British. The British, however, demonstrated greater control over aggression than the American.

In another study, Matsumoto with colleagues polled residents of four countries: the United States, Japan, Russia and South Korea. Scientists requested the subjects to choose from the list, what would they do if one of the 14 emotions were tested in four different social situations. The list of seven alternatives looked as follows.

1. I will express the feeling without any change.

2. I will relax or understand the expression of feelings.

3. I will exaggerate the expression of emotions.

4. I will mask or hide the expression under some other feeling.

5. Limit the smile.

6. I will make my expression.

7. I will express something else.

The results showed that, although cultural differences exist, representatives of all cultures used all the proposed alternatives. This suggests that these alternatives accurately reflect responses available to people when adapting their emotional expression to the social context.

Among their own and surrounded by other people's

In the last decade, the accumulated facts of differences in emotional terms made it possible to create a theoretical base to explain how and why cultures give rise to these differences.

Matsumoto used for these purposes the concept of "group of their" and "strangers" (see chapter 16). He suggested that the cultural differences in the relationship between a person with the "group of their" and "strangers" are of particular importance for the emotions expressed in social interactions. In general, in all cultures, close relations in the "group of their" create a sense of safety and comfort and allow a person to freely express emotions and create a tolerance situation to a wide range of emotional behavior. In part, emotional socialization lies in the assimilation of someone who is a member of the "group of their" and "strangers" and in learning relevant behavior.

The dependence of the expression of emotions from collectivism and individualism

As Matsumoto showed, collectivist cultures contribute to the manifestation of more positive and less negative emotions in relation to "their own", because the medical harmony is much more important for a collectivist society. Positive emotions provide support for this harmony, and negative emotions threaten her. Individualistic cultures are more supporting the expression of negative emotions and less often - positive in the "group of their", since harmony and cohesion are less significant for such cultures; Also in these cultures are considered to be acceptable to express emotions that threaten group cohesion. Individualistic cultures are more encouraged by positive emotions and less negative outside the group, since the differences in "their" and "strangers" group are not so important for individualistic cultures, so they allow positive and suppress negative emotions against the group "Aliens". Collectivistic cultures encourage negative emotions, aimed at the "group of others" to more clearly separate the "group of their" from the "group of others" and rally "the group of their own" (with the help of collective expressions of negative emotions aimed at the group of others).

Confirmation of the theory of Matsumoto.

Two studies have confirmed many of these hypotheses. Matsumoto and Haryn, for example, studied the cultural rules of expression in the USA, Poland and Hungary. Participants in the experiments in each of the three countries viewed each of the six universal emotions and were assessed how appropriate to express them in three different social situations: 1) alone, 2) in the presence of others considered by the members of the group of their "(for example, close friends, Family members), and 3) for strangers who do not consider "their own" (for example, publicly, in the presence of random acquaintances).

Poles and Hungarians indicated that in the "group of their" inappropriate to express negative emotions and more approaching positive emotions; They also considered that expressing negative emotions more appropriate among the groups of others. The Americans, on the contrary, were more inclined to express negative emotions in the "group of their", and positive emotions in the Aliens group. Unlike Americans, the Poles also indicated that the manifestation of negative emotions was less appropriate, even when they remained alone. Matsumoto and Hisn interpreted these results as confirming theoretical prerequisites of Matsumoto (1991). The comparisons of the United States and Japan confirmed these assumptions.

Summary

Thus, the study of the past decade did not simply recorded the versatility of facial expressions and the existence of the rules of manifestation of emotions marked by Ekman and his colleagues. Existing studies show that culture strongly affects our expressions of emotions with the help of the rules of manifestation of emotions learned in culture, and gives us an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat these rules are similar. In modern studies, assumptions are also made that in culture leads to differences in emotional expressions and why. Given that most of the interactions among people are social, by definition, we must assume that cultural differences are valid using the rules of manifestation of emotions. If not always, it is almost always.

To understand how people in different cultures express emotions, we must understand, firstly, what is the universal base of these expressions and, secondly, what types of rules for expressing emotions in culture are involved when we express our emotions. Yet, we need to fill out numerous gaps in our knowledge. For example, further research should explain how people from different cultures assimilate the rules for the manifestation of emotions and what are these rules. Studies in the future will also show how and why the cultures differ an expression of emotions, and includes aspects of not only individualism and collectivism, but also the differentiation of force or status.

Culture and perception of emotions Universality of recognition of emotions

In many analytical studies devoted to the universality of expressing emotions, it is argued that the expressions of emotions are understandable all over the world. Observers in all countries and cultures, when they showed photos with expressions of universal emotions, unanimously agreed with what emotion was depicted in the photo. As you remember, these studies included people not only written, but also safe cultures. Another study also discovers the universality of judgment on spontaneous expressions of emotions on the face.

New confirmations of universality

Numerous studies reproduce the data of initial universality research. For example, Ekman and colleagues asked observers in 10 different cultures. View photos depicting each of the 6 different emotions. Experts not only called each emotion, selecting her verbal designation from a certain list, but also assessed how bright it seemed to them expressed emotion. Experts in all 10 cultures agreed on what emotion they saw, thereby confirming the versatility of recognition. In addition, observers in each culture highly appreciated the intensity of expression of emotions in photographs.

These numerous studies unequivocally indicate that people in all cultures can learn universal expressions of individuals. Just as this happened with an expression of emotions, scientists quickly learned the principle of recognition, so that studies in this field of relations between culture and emotional perception almost ceased. Since the researchers knew that people from different cultures could, following the rules of expression of emotions, to show them differently, then scientists realized that people in different cultures should get acquainted with different perception of the emotions of others. In the past decade, numerous studies were held on this topic. It is assumed that, like the expression of emotions, the perception of emotions has universal communal elements and aspects specific to each culture.

Data on other cross-cultural similarities in the perception of emotions

Universal emotion of contempt

FROM The moment of initial research at the university a number of works confirms the universality of the seventh expression - contempt. Initial data were collected from 10 cultures, including the culture of Western Sumatra. This data of Matsumoto later reproduced in their studies, after analyzing four cultures, three of which differed from 10 cultures investigated by Ekman and Frisen. This seventh universal expression attracted the attention of researchers and exposed to strong criticism. Russell, for example, suggested that the context in which this or that expression appeared, influenced the results and testified of the universality. In the study of Russell, the expression of contempt. People were more often called or disgust or sadness, when this expression was demonstrated one or after a photograph with an expression of disgust and sorrow. Ekman, 0 "Salley Van and Matsumoto nevertheless again analyzed their data to reflect criticism, and did not find any influence of the context. Ville and his colleagues also did not find any other possible violations of the methodology.

Ratings of the relative intensity of emotions

In different cultures, the intensity of those or other emotions expressed on the face is approximately equally equally estimated. That is, when two facial expressions are compared, then in all cultures, people distinguish the expression that the most strongly manifested. When Eneman and his colleagues offered to participants in two examples of the same emotion, they found that in 92% of cases, the experiments participants came to a single opinion of relatively more intensive emotions. Matsumoto and Ekman expanded the base of the participants and included in the photo for comparison various types of positive, including European and Japanese origin. When the researchers studied each emotion within one gender, first in a specific culture, and then in different cultures, they found that the Americans and the Japanese expressed a unanimous opinion regarding the emotions depicted on 24 of 30 photos. These data show that in cultures of emotions are estimated at the same basis, despite the differences in faces, morphology, race and sexuality positive and on the rules in culture that determine the expressions and perception of persons.

The relationship between the seeming intensity of the expression of emotions and conclusions about subjective experiences

When people see pronounced emotion on the face, they conclude that a person really experiences strong feelings. If the facial expression has a weaker emotional color, it is concluded that a person is experiencing more weak emotions. Matsumoto, Casry and Cooks demonstrated this effect, having received an opinion about 56 expressions of Japanese and European persons. Observers were evaluated which emotion was posing, and then did the conclusion about the external terms and Subjective experiences of emotion. The correlations between the two intensity ratings were calculated twice, first took correlations between observers for each expression, and then the correlation of expressions for each observer.

Regardless of the calculations, and for cultures and for all expressions, high positive correlations were observed. Observers associated the force of external manifestation with the alleged force of internal experiences, so that it is possible to make an assumption about the community that binds all cultures.

The relationship between the presence and absence of an expression and the experience associated with it and the intensity of the other is a topic that is of great importance in modern emotion theories. Some authors argue that the relationship between expression and experience is unforgettable others believe that expressions and experiences are closely related (but not necessarily combined with each other). These Matsumoto and his colleagues are clearly confirmed by the relationship of these concepts.

The second type of response when recognizing emotions

Some expressions of emotions are equally brightly perceived in different cultures. Observers in the study of Economy and others were assessed not only which emotion was depicted on the faces, but also the intensity of each of the emotions category. In this task, observers were allowed to report numerous emotions or the absence of emotions in general, and they were not forced to choose emotion to describe the face. Although previous studies have shown the versatility of the first type of response, cultures could differ in what emotion in them prevailed.

Analytical studies have nevertheless confirmed the community of cultures. In every culture in the study of EMAN and employees, secondary emotion for the expression of contempt was contempt, and for the expression of fear - surprise. As for the wrath, the second type of response differed depending on the photo, and the participants in the experiments called disgust, surprise or contempt. This data reproduced Matsumoto and Ekman, as well as Biel and his colleagues. So it can be assumed that in all cultures, people perceive face expressions equally. Such unanimity can exist because of the general semantics of the category of emotions, in predecessors and causative agents of emotion or in the outlines themselves.

Cross-cultural differences in the perception of emotions

Similarities and differences in the recognition of emotions

Although the first studies on the universality of emotions have shown that the subjects recognized the same emotions. Quite often, none of the research specifies complete cross-cultural similarity (there is no data on 100% of the coincidence of opinions on the recognition of emotions in the expressions of the person). Matsumoto, for example, compared the evaluations of the Japanese and Americans and found that the level of recognition ranged from 64 to 99%, which corresponded to previous research on universality. Americans have better recognized anger, disgust, fear and sadness than the Japanese, but the level of accuracy did not differ for happiness and surprise. These results can be interpreted as confirming the universality of expressing emotions on the face, because in most cases (over 70%) the unanimity was consistently high and statistically significant.

Some new studies also showed that, although people from different cultures adhere to one opinion regarding the most vivid expression of emotions on the face, cross-cultural differences arise in the perception of different emotions with the same expression. Irizarri, Matsumoto and Wilson Kon, for example, again analyzed the tests for the recognition by the Americans and the Japanese seven universal expressions of emotions. Both Americans and the Japanese recognized that the brightly pronounced emotion was anger. However, Americans more often saw disgust and contempt among the proposed expressions, while the Japanese expressions of anger were more often taken for sadness. Although the previous study sequentially showed that experts saw numerous emotions when there were persons around the world, it was the first study that recorded cultural differences in the assessment of many emotions reflected in the same facial expression.

Learning emotions and cultural characteristics

Considering at least some cultural differences in the assessment of the perception of emotions, the researchers are interested in what their causes. Russell, for example, insisted on the distinction of Western and unmarried crops. Scientists suggested that the methodologies used to test the recognition of emotions in different cultures were with a Western slope, so that observers from North America and Europe were easier to answer questions.

Biel and his assistants compared the perception of emotions in six cultures and demonstrated that the dichotomy of Western and unmarried cultures is not statistically confirmed and does not explain the cross-national variation. Instead, Biel and his assistants suggested that the associated differences Sociopsy-Cultural variables or cultural directions affect the evaluation process of emotions.

As an example of using such parameters to explain the cultural differences in recognition, Matsumoto has selected data on perception of 15 cultures of 4 studies and delimited every culture in accordance with the Hofstede Parameters: Distance of power, restraint, avoidance of uncertainty, individualism and masculinity (see chapter 2 , there is an overview of these parameters). Then Matsumoto compared these parameters with the level of recognition accuracy. He found that individualism positively correlated with the level of average intensity for anger and fear. So it was confirmed the assumption that Americans (individualistic culture) better cope with the recognition of negative emotions than the Japanese (collectivist culture).

Schimmak metaanalysis also showed that differences in the perception of emotions - the function of culture. Individualism has better predicted recognition of joy than ethnicity (Caucasian / Nekavkazskaya), so that the idea that sociocultural parameters explain the differences in the perception of emotions. Studies show that in the future you can use such parameters for the study of cultural influences on emotion perception, so scientists can no longer rely on the archaic distinction of the dichotomy of Western / unmarried culture.

Attribution of the intensity of the expression

People from different cultures are different as far as other people's emotions seem to be. The study of Ekman and colleagues 10 cultures first fixed this effect. Although in general, the data on understanding was confirmed by universality, the Asians were significantly lower than the ratings of the intensity of happiness, surprise and fear. Based on these data, it can be assumed that the experts acted in accordance with the cultural rules of how to perceive expressions, especially if we consider that all positive were white. That is, maybe asians evaluated the intensity of expression whites less from politeness or ignorance.

To test this hypothesis, Matsumoto and Ecman took a number of incentives (expressing emotions from Japanese and Europeans) and submitted to their experts in the United States and Japan. Expressions of all emotions, except for one, the Americans were assessed as more intense than the Japanese, regardless of the race of a person who was evaluated. Since the differences were not specific for positive, Matsumoto and Ecman interpreted differences as a function of rules that can be in cultures to interpret the expression of the face of others. Differences in the expression intensity attributes were also documented among the US ethnic groups.

The examination of Matsumoto, described above, also studied the relationship between the cultural parameters of the hophster and the rating of the intensity of emotions. It gave two important results. First, there was a negative correlation between the distance and the intensity rating of anger, fear and sadness, so it can be assumed that cultures that emphasize the differences in status, estimate these emotions as less intense. Probably, these emotions threaten the status of relationships and thus weaken in emotional perception. Secondly, individualism has positively correlated with ratings intensity of wrath, fear and sadness, so it can be assumed that people in individualistic cultures see more intensity in these expressions. These data can not only be interpreted in connection with the trends of the behavior due to the influence of individualism or restraint; On their basis, it can be assumed that the parameters of understanding in culture can be the key to the explanation of cultural differences in the perception of negative emotions.

Conclusions on emotional experiences related to the expression of emotions on the face

Although in different cultures, emotions are externally expressed in different ways, it was unclear whether the experiences associated with them are described differently in cultures and if so whether the same differences will be observed in the external manifestation of emotions. Matsumoto, Casrey and Cooks tested this presentation and compared the experts - Americans and the Japanese, - when they received individual ratings to express intense and subjective experiences.

Americans evaluated the external manifestation of emotions as more intense than the Japanese. An analysis inside the culture did not show any significant differences in the assessment in Japan. There were, however, there were significant differences for Americans who consistently estimated the external manifestation more intensively than subjective experience. Although the researchers have previously assumed that the differences between the Americans and the Japanese arose, because the Japanese deliberately evaluated the intensity below, these data indicate that in fact, the Americans exaggerated the external manifestation rating depending on the subjective experiences, and not the Japanese, who had the Japanese.

Personal attributes based on smiles

Smile is a general greeting sign, recognition and approval. It also applies to hide emotions, and cultures may differ in the use of smiles for this purpose. So, in the study of Frize, when men are the Japanese and Americans - watched video clips, causing disgust, in the same room with an experimenter, then the Japanese used smiles to hide their negative expressions, much more often than the Americans.

To further explore the meaning of these differences, Matsumoto and Kudo received ratings of Japanese and American smiles and not smiling (neutral) in the parameters of the mind, attractiveness and sociability. Americans evaluated smiling faces as smarter than neutral; But the Japanese - no. Americans and the Japanese equally considered smiling faces more sociable than neutral, and for Americans it was even more difference. These differences suggest that the rules of manifestation of emotions in culture make the Japanese and Americans attach a different meaning of the smile, and this well explains significant differences in the style of communication in different cultures.

The influence of cultural differences of perception on the universality of emotions

Criticism of universality research

For 30 years, cross-cultural researchers have collected a lot of data, and the universality of expressing emotions on the face turned from a hypothesis to a well-known psychological principle. However, recently in some articles were questioned by research proving such versatility. This criticism of previous studies is aimed primarily on their methods, interpretation and the use of specific terms in the language to express emotions on the face.

Probably the most in the issue of universality scientists were worried about the methods used in expert research. For many years, research in many laboratories around the world were conducted independently and various methods were applied. In his review, Russell expressed several critical comments on these techniques, including 1) about the nature of the stimulus, i.e., photographs are selected in advance, and the expressions of emotions were artificial; 2) Presentation of the incentive - in some studies incentives are organized in advance in such a way that the subjects can "quickly guess" and 3) criticized the form of a response - the fact that the methods of forced choice dominated in an alternative to the response. In one of his recent works, Russell again analyzed the data in a number of studies and divided studies depending on the method, as well as delimited cultures on Western and unmarried and demonstrated that the methods used created preferences in favor of Western cultures. (We have previously discussed the validity of such distinction.)

Verzhbitska expressed the concerns of another kind, she suggested that six (or seven) basic emotions are usually indicated by specific words. On the contrary, the psychologist considers, we must talk about universal emotions only as "primitive concepts". For example, when a person finds out a happy smile, he or she reads on his face: "I think: something good happens, so I feel that I feel good." Verzhbitska believes that although it is really an expression of emotions on the face of universally, the methods applied by us to study them, including the use of terms to designate emotions as an alternative to the reactions in the tasks to evaluate, are limited and related to the culture in which these terms have been formed, and they cannot To be universal.

Universality and cultural relativity

Objey Russell, Ekman and Izard note that, although his article, apparently, gives systematic evidence, in reality only work confirming this thesis is described in it. In particular, Russell did not quote these studies, distorted, as it seemed to him, earlier data on the universality of emotions. The thesis of Russell also has its drawbacks, since, criticizing several evidence of the universality of facial expressions, he denied universality at all. For example, Russell does not mention primates and infants.

First, anxiety regarding the impact of various methodologies in studies held today - these are empirical issues, and they should be answered in the process of research, and not putting forward hypothesis. A partial approach to the problem deciding separately in each of the studies will not be a solution for the very reason that the Russell himself calls: the interaction of numerous methodological parameters can affect the results. Thus, the only possible empirical solution of this dispute is the holding of "fully controlled and exhaustive research". In such a study, the following independent variables will vary: 1) Type of test - competent, illiterate, college students and non-college students; 2) the types of incentives are predetermined and spontaneous, with emotional and non-modes; 3) presented and not presented in advance incentives; 4) experiments with one subject or experiments calculated on the interaction of the subjects, a diverse order or fixed order; 5) Type of reaction elections - any, fixed, score on scale; and 6) presence or absence of manipulations, and if present, the type of manipulation will vary. Any separate study or a group of studies that combine parts and details given above do not help answer the question of the methodological influence on opinion, as a person will never know how different levels of one factor affect the various degrees of the presence of another factor. Only a fully controlled study can respond to these questions. Of course, a fully controlled study is rather a fantasy than reality, and we will probably never meet him in the literature. But it is important to understand what the parameters of the empirical response to the questions raised by Russell. In the absence of data from a fully controlled study or when there is too much data, I do not see any reasons to criticize it methodology.

Secondly, universality and cultural relativity do not exclude each other. As in the case of an argument based on the analogies or environment, if we look at the phenomenon only from one point of view, we will not see the entire picture. The perception of emotions can be universal and concrete for each culture, depending on which aspect of perception we mean. Although I would suggest that there is at least five causes of the variability of the perception of emotions, which can lead to cultural differences in the perception of emotions, even if this expression can be assessed as universal. These reasons include 1) semantic community in linguistic categories and mental concepts associated with emotions that are used in the assessment process; 2) General components of facial expressions in expressions; 3) the cognitive community of events and experiences associated with emotion; 4) Personal Prejudices in Social Knowledge; and 5) culture. The future study will distinguish individual and interactive impacts of all these sources on the nature of the evaluation process.

Neurocultural theory of similarities and differences

Therefore, in general, the existing evidence suggests that perception may consist of both universal and concrete elements for the culture. In other works, I assume that there is a mechanism similar to the neurocultural theory of Economy and Friesen, which explains how similarities in culture and differences in the perception of emotions or estimates may arise. Based on this, it can be concluded that the evaluation of emotions is influenced by: 1) the innate and universal recognition program of the affect (it is similar to the program of impact of the facial affect of ECman and Frisen); 2) decoding rules Specific for each culture, reinforcing, weakening, masking or qualifying perception.

Thus, when we see emotions from others, the expression is found in the process similar to the search for matching the template among universal prototypes of expressing emotions on the face. It has already been proven that the perception of incentive is also joined by the learned rules for the perception of such expressions from others. Further, I believe that this mechanism is basic to transmit emotions in different cultures, as they say in the original neurocultural theory of expression of Emotions of Economy and Friesen.

Studies in the future are more fully exploring the contexts and parameters of decoding rules and how they affect the estimates not only prepared in the laboratory conditions of expressions of emotions, but also spontaneous expressions of emotions in real life. The study in the future will also consider estimates of partial, mixed and ambiguous expressions in different cultures.

Culture and Elimination Emotion

When people from different cultures are experiencing emotion, they test it equally or differently? Are they subject to the same type of emotion? Are they experiencing some emotions more often or stronger than others? Do they have the same non-verbal reactions, physiological and bodily symptoms and sensations?

In recent years, the degree of universality of emotional experience was established, i.e., as far as it is common to all people in all cultures and specific for each individual culture. Two main types of research answered these questions: one conducted Claus Sherler and Garald Wallbott in Europe, and the second is a number of independent scientists. Psychologists have established that many aspects of our emotional experiences are actually universal, while other aspects of emotional life are specific to each culture.

Universality of emotional experiences

The first series of studies of Sheremer and his colleagues

Sherler and his colleagues conducted a number of studies using questionnaires that had to evaluate the quality and nature of emotional experiences in many different cultures. The first study included about 600 participants from 5 European countries. In the second study, scientists have collected additional data in three European countries, and thus researchers have covered only 8 countries in the work. The third study made a comparison of the average sample of European participants with a sample of participants from the United States and Japan.

The methodology for all cultures was generally the same. Participants filled out a questionnaire with questions about four basic emotions: joy / happiness, sadness / grief, fear / alarm and anger / wrath. At first they described the situation in which the emotion was felt: what exactly was happening, who participated, where and when, how long the feeling lasted. The participants then provided information on their non-verbal reactions, physiological sensations and verbal expression of emotion. Three tests were scaled, the remaining responses participants were chosen freely.

Similarity of emotional experiences

The results of the first two studies showed the amazing similarity of emotional experiences among European participants in the experiment. Although their reaction really varied depending on the culture, in practice, the culture had a rather minor impact, especially compared with the differences between the emotions themselves. That is, the differences between four tested emotions were much more than the differences between cultures. The researchers concluded that at least these emotions, tested in the experiment, had a common experience of experiences.

Moreover, when the European data with the data of Americans and the Japanese, Sherler and his colleagues were compared that although the cultural effect was a little more, he still remained relatively insignificant compared to the differences of emotions. In all three studies, it was concluded that culture could influence and really affect the experience of these emotions, but this influence is significantly less than the main differences among the emotions themselves. Simply put, there are more similarities between different cultures than differences.

Differences between universal emotions

Differences between emotions that are versatile in different cultures are summarized for example, joy and anger arise More than sadness and fear. Joy and sadness are experiencing more intense than anger and fear, and much longer. Anger and fear are associated with a stronger degree of ergotropic excitation (muscular symptoms and then) than sadness and joy, and the sadness is associated with a more trophhotropic excitation (such as symptomatic sensations in the stomach, lump in the throat and crying). Joy is associated with certain behavior, and joy and anger are more often associated with verbal and non-verbal reactions.

The second series of studies of Sheremer and his colleagues

In the second series of studies conducted by Sherler and its colleagues, was mainly the same technique - the survey of the participant in 37 countries on five continents. The initial questionnaire was modified and included three more emotions - shame, guilt and disgust - only seven emotions. In addition, many questions were adapted so that the answers to them could choose or have been given ready-made answers, in Tom Isla as an alternative, respondents from previous studies were also given. Data analysis allows you to draw the following conclusions.

In all spheres of response - subjective sensations, physiological symptoms and motor expression patterns, seven emotions differed from each other strongly and significantly (from the point of view of the relative effect). Geographical and sociocular factors also influenced emotional experiences, but their degree of impact was much less than differences between the emotions themselves. The identified effects of strong interaction indicate that geographical and sociocular factors can have different effects on specific emotions, but the magnitude of these effects is relatively small. These results confirm the conclusion on the existence of strong and consistent differences between the reaction patterns for seven emotions and they do not depend on what country is being studied. It can be proved that universal differences in self-defaults about emotional reactions indicate a psychobiological emotional pattern.

These studies again confirm that the experience of these emotions is universally and that, regardless of culture, people possess the same basic emotional experiences. Although culture really affects the experience of seven emotions, this influence is not so much as seemingly innocent differences between the emotions themselves. Again, in emotional experiences, much more similarities than differences. Another study of participants from four cultures - the United States, Japan, Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China - was held another group of scientists, and gave similar results confirming the universality of emotional experiences.

Cultural differences in emotional experiences

Although cultural differences, found in the newly described studies, were significantly less than the differences between emotions, they, nevertheless exist. For example, when Sherler and his colleagues compared Europeans, Americans and the Japanese, the Japanese indicated that they were experiencing all emotions - joy, sadness, fear and anger - more than Americans and Europeans. The Americans, in turn, noted that they were experiencing joy and anger more often Europeans. The Americans indicated that they were experiencing emotions longer and more intense than Europeans or the Japanese. The Japanese respondents in general were rushed less frequently with their hands, they had less and less reacted by a voice or face on emotions than Americans or Europeans. The Americans showed the highest degree of expressiveness, both in the reactions of the face and voices. Americans and Europeans also described much more physiological sensations than the Japanese. These sensations were treated with the temperature of the body (people were blushing, felt hot), cardiovascular system (heartbeat was rapidly, pulse changed) and the state of the digestive apparatus (problems with the stomach appeared).

The Japanese are experiencing all emotions - joy, sadness, fear and anger - more often than Americans and Europeans. Americans are joy and anger more often Europeans, and all emotions are longer and more intense than Europeans or the Japanese.

In order to explain the identified cultural differences, scientists used two methods, evaluating cultures from the point of view of their economic status and the parameters of Hofsted.

The dependence of shame and guilt from culture parameters

Walbottom and Sherler were studying the link between the experiences of shame and guilt and the four parameters of the culture of Hofstede: individualism / collectivism, the distance by the authorities, avoiding uncertainty and masculinity. Scientists have chosen from their second series of studies of the country, which were previously included in a multinational study of the cultural values \u200b\u200bof Hofstede, and divided them into three groups: with a high, medium or low degree of severity of culture parameters, and then combined this classification with data on differences in emotional experiences .

Wallbott and Sherler received truly striking results. For example, shame was experiencing participants in the experiments from collectivist cultures for a shorter time, was considered less immoral and this experience was more often accompanied by laughter and smiles than representatives of individualistic cultures. Shame in collectivist cultures was often characterized by high temperature and low trophhotropic excitation. The same data were obtained in cultures with a high distance of power and a weakly pronounced avoidance of uncertainty. These results are all the more interesting because they can contradict what could be predicted on the basis of previous works, which characterized collectivist cultures as "shame cultures".

Shame was experiencing participants of experiments from collectivist cultures for a shorter time, was considered less immoral and this experience was more often accompanied by laughter and smiles than among representatives of individualistic cultures,

Emotions and Gross National Income

In another attempt to disclose the possible foundations of cultural differences in emotional experiences Wallbott and Shero, compared the data of its research with the gross national product of each of the countries studied. They discovered "significant negative correlations of gross national product with a recent emotional experience, its duration and intensity. These correlations indicate that the poorest country, the longer and more intense emotions. The subjects from poorer countries report on "more significant and serious emotional cases".

The poorest country, the longer and more intense emotions from her citizens ...

Cultural building emotion

A number of researchers under the leadership of China and Marcus, as well as Verzhbitsk and Swedere, took advantage of another approach to describing how culture affects emotional experiences. Applying the so-called functionalist approach, these researchers consider emotion as a number of "socially general scenarios" consisting of physiological, behavioral and subjective components. Such scenarios are formed as people assimilate the rules of culture, which spawned them and with which they interact. Emotion, therefore, reflects the cultural environment in which people develop and live, and is the same integral part of it, like morality and ethics. Marcus and China quote the data of numerous sources confirming this point of view, including studies demonstrating the distinction between cultures in the experience of social and non-social emotions and cultural patterns of sensations of joy and happiness.

From this point of view, the culture forms emotion. Since various cultures have different reality and ideals producing various psychological needs and goals, they cause differences in the experience of familiar emotions.

Universality of emotions from the point of view of the functionalist approach

Many authors who use the functionalist approach enter further a simple description of the role of culture in building emotional experiences and are questioned universal and, possibly, biologically congenital aspects of emotions. Basically, their argumentation is that it is precisely because of congenital and complex relationships between emotion and culture, emotion cannot be considered as "biologically fixed" for all people. Such functionalists believe that it is generally wrong to talk about the universality of emotions and that the data confirming this concept is just a consequence of experimental and theoretical prejudices of some researchers.

An additional approaches to the study of emotions

I personally does not seem that the functionalist approach to emotions based on cultural construction and general social scenarios is contrary to the universality of emotions. First, the functionalists and supporters of universality are studying different emotions. The position of universality is limited to a narrow set of scattered emotions characterized by a unique expression on the face. Studies conducted by functionalists have absorbed a wide range of emotional experiences overlooking universal emotions. In addition, these researchers studied various aspects of emotion.

The universality of emotions is based on the existence of general cultural signals for expressing emotions on the face. For the most part, the study of the cultural design of emotions is based on the subjective experience of emotion and the vocabulary of emotions in the language, which is used to describe and present the appropriate experiences. It is clear that one component of emotion can be universal, and the other is relative for each culture. Finally, the existence of universal and congenital biological substrates of emotions does not limit the possibility that cultures also form most of the experience. As already mentioned earlier, the universal foundation of emotions can provide a standard platform on which such a construction is built. Therefore, it seems to me that the cultural construction of emotional experiences can occur not only within the framework of basic emotions and their universal expressions. Future studies in this area can be guided by submissions that complement each other, rather than antagonistic categorical points of view.

Emotion culture and prerequisites

Emotion backgrounds - These are events or situations provoking or causing emotion. For example, the loss of a loved one may precede sadness; Getting an excellent assessment on an interesting training course for you - awaken the feeling of happiness or joy. In the scientific literature, emotions are sometimes referred to as emotion pathogens.

For many years, scientists have discussed, similar or differ prerequisites for emotions in different cultures. On the one hand, a number of scientists believe that the prerequisites of emotions should be similar in different cultures, at least it concerns universal emotions, since these emotions are similar in all cultures and all people have a common database of experiences and expressions. The results of cross-cultural studies that we mentioned earlier when writing about the expression of emotions, perception and experiences, as if confirmed by this position. On the other hand, many authors defend the point of view, according to which there should be different prerequisites for emotions in different cultures; i.e., the same events in different cultures may indeed provoke completely different emotions in these cultures. It is not necessary in all cultures at the funeral, people are pronounced, and the acquisition of "excellent" does not always awaken joy. There are many examples of such cross-cultural differences of emotional prerequisites, and research largely confirm this point of view.

Cultural similarities in emotion premises

Voucher and Brandt Research: Universal Emotion Backgrounds

Many studies have confirmed the versatility of emotion prerequisites. Voucher and Brandt, for example, asked participants in the United States and Malaysia to describe the situation when someone forced another person to experience anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness or surprise. The choice of emotions for research was based on previous studies on the universality of emotions. A total found 96 prerequisites of various emotions. Then, a separate group of American participants of the experiment appreciated the prerequisites and tried to identify what emotion awakened each of them. The results showed that the Americans classified prerequisites equally correctly, regardless of whether the emotions were awakened by the American participants of the experiment or the Malaysians. That is, culture is a source of emotion - does not affect its classification.

Subsequently, the brandt and voucher reproduced this data using the subjects from the USA, Korea and from Samoa Islands. The results of the research indicate that the prerequisites were common in different cultures, and thereby confirm the views on general cultural similarity in the premises of emotions.

Emotion backgrounds in Sheremer studies

In the work of Shero and his colleagues, described by us earlier, an attempt was made to study the prerequisites of emotions in different cultures. Psychologists asked the respondents to describe the situation or event when they experienced anger, joy, fear, sadness, disgust, shame and feeling of guilt (four emotions in the first series of studies; all seven emotions were studied in the second series). Again, the choice of emotions was determined by the results of the previous study of universality (some studies that are not brought here showed that the shame and sense of guilt are also universal emotions). Experienced employees then coded the situations described by the test in general categories, such as good news and bad news, temporary or constant separation, success and failure in a situation. When encoding this data, there was no categories of prerequisites specific for a particular culture, all categories of events, as a rule, occurred in all cultures and caused all seven emotions that scientists explored.

In addition, Sherler and his colleagues compared the relative frequency with which each of the prerequisites awakened those or other emotions. Again, many common features were discovered in different cultures. For example, most often in different cultures caused the fortune of the "relationship with friends", "meeting with friends" and "Success situations". Most often awakened anger "Relationship with others" and "injustice." Most often awakened the sadness of the "relationship with others" and "death". This data also confirmed the idea that the prerequisites of emotions are similar in different cultures.

Other Emotion Background Studies

A small number of other studies also indicate similarities between the prerequisites of emotions in different cultures.

Galati and Skiaki, for example, found that the prerequisites of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise were similar in North and Southern Italy. Bunck and Happing note that in all seven cultures studied by them reported that the flirting awakens jealousy. Levi did the conclusion that many situations causing emotions to Tahiti will cause emotions in people from other countries.

Cultural differences in emotion premises

The study largely confirms cultural differences in the premises of emotions. So, Sherler and his colleagues found many differences in cultures between the relative frequency of various prerequisites of the events specified by their respondents (together with the cultural similarities specified earlier).

Events in culture, the birth of a new family member, "basic pleasures" associated with the body, and the situation of success were much more significant precursors of joy for Europeans and Americans than for the Japanese. The death of family members or close friends, physical parting with beloved and world news more often provoked sorrow from Europeans and Americans than the Japanese. However, problems in relationship caused more sorrow from the Japanese than Americans or Europeans. Strangers and situations of success caused Americans more fear, while new situations, transport and relationships with others often caused the fear of the Japanese. Finally, the situation, including unfamiliar people, more often caused anger from the Japanese than Americans and Europeans. Situations involving related links awakened more anger among Americans than the Japanese. Such data is apparent that the same type of situation or events does not necessarily cause the same emotion among representatives of different cultures.

Problems in relationships cause more sorrow from the Japanese than Americans or Europeans.

Some other studies give similar or comparable results. All these works make it possible to conclude that the prerequisites of emotions differ significantly in different cultures.

Coexistence of similarities and differences in the backgrounds of emotions

Hidden and explicit content of emotions

Considering the fact that cross-cultural research has found both similarities and differences in the premises of emotions in different cultures, how can we reconnect these studies among themselves? In other works, I suggested that the only useful way to interpret cross-cultural data on the prerequisites for emotions is to distinguish between the hidden and explicit content of the events and situations producing emotions.

Explicit content is a real event or situation, such as a meeting with friends, funeral or a case when someone climbs in front of you. Hidden content is a psychological meaning associated with an explicit content that underlies the situation or event. For example, the hidden content of the friendly meeting can be the achievement of the psychological goals of heat and proximity to other people. The hidden content underlying the visits to the funeral is probably the loss of a loved one. The hidden content of the fact that someone got up in front of you is a sense of injustice or an obstacle to achieving the goal.

Universality of the hidden content of emotions

Based on my survey of cross-cultural research, it is possible to conclude the universality of the hidden content of the backgrounds of emotions. That is, some psychological themes generate the same emotions in most people in many cultures. Hidden content implies that sadness is invariably connected with the loss of the object of love. Hidden content implies that happiness is invariably connected with the achievement of a certain goal that is of great importance for a person. Hidden content implies that anger is often a consequence of the feeling of injustice or an obstacle to the way to achieve the goal. Similarly, several main constructs of hidden content include each of the universal emotions, which are detected sequentially in different cultures. These basic constructs seem to create a certain universal cultural base.

The connection of the explicit and hidden content of emotions.

At the same time, cultures are different between themselves depending on situations, events or incidents associated with hidden content. You can not always set an unambiguous match between the hidden and explicit content of the event. So, in one culture, death causes the condition of sorrow, and another emotion contributes to another. In one culture, the explicit content of death can be associated with the hidden content of the loss of the beloved object and lead to a feeling of sorrow; In another culture, the explicit content of death can be associated with another hidden content, such as achieving a higher spiritual purpose, and causes opposite emotion - joy. Thus, the same explicit event can be associated with different psychological topics lying in its basis and distinguishing different emotions.

The same hidden topics, depending on the culture, can be associated with different explicit content. For example, a threat to a personal well-being of a person can form a psychological theme, which is based on fear. In one culture, this topic can be expressed in the fact that the person turns out to be one in a big city late at night. In another culture, it is rather connected with trips than with a stay on a deserted street. Despite differences in explicit content and the other situation, the situation may cause fear in the appropriate culture due to the similarity of hidden content.

The same explicit event can be associated with different psychological themes lying on its basis and calling different emotions.

People in different cultures learn to associate events, concrete for each culture, situation and incident (explicit content) with a limited set of psychological topics (hidden content), causing emotions. Although in different cultures, the nature of hidden content is very similar, the explicit content of events causing emotions varies. Such a difference explains why cross-cultural research detects both similarities and differences in the premises of emotions. The concept of hidden content is also useful for explaining another process associated with emotions - assessment.

Culture and Evaluation Emotions

Cultural similarities in evaluating emotions

Evaluation of emotions It is possible to approximately identify as a process with which people evaluate events, situations or incidents that lead to the fact that people experience emotions. This aspect of studying human emotions has a long and difficult story, but the main questions about the nature of the process of assessment in connection with the culture remain unchanged. How do people in different cultures think about events that provoke their emotions, or how to evaluate them? Are emotions and provoking their situations have cross-cultural similarities? Or people in different cultures in different ways represent the backgrounds of emotions?

Universality Evaluation Processes

Over the past decade, in a number of important and interesting research, it was found that many evaluation processes appear equally in different cultures and maybe they are universal. Mauro, Sato and Tucker asked for the participants of the experiments in the USA, Hong Kong, Japan and the People's Republic of China, to fill out an extensive profile, which required to describe the situation provoked one of 16 emotions, including 7 universal. For each emotion, they accounted for an exhaustive list of questions related to a number of rating parameters: pleasure, attention, certainty, the ability to cope, control, responsibility, anticipation of efforts, benefit to achieve the goal / satisfaction of the need. Scientists have discovered only a few cultural differences only in two parameters: legality and compatibility with norms or individuals. They interpreted these data as proof of the universality of the evaluation of emotions.

Seven emotion evaluation parameters

Although the choice of assessment parameters included in this study was justified by theoretical considerations, Mauro and his assistants checked empirically and found the smallest number of parameters required to describe the differences between emotions. They used statistical techniques called the analysis of the main components : Variables were combined into a small number of factors based on the relationship in the initial range of variables. The results of this analysis showed that only seven parameters were necessary to explain the excitement of emotions: pleasant , Definition , an effort , Attention , apparent control of other people , relevance and Situation Control .

When cultural differences were tested in accordance with these parameters, scientists found the same results: there were no cultural differences in more primitive parameters and only a certain amount appeared in more complex. These results make it possible to conclude that these emotion estimate parameters are universal, at least for emotions included in the study of Mauro and its colleagues.

To explain the initiation of sixteen major emotions, only seven parameters are necessary: \u200b\u200bpleasant, certainty, effort, attention, apparent control of other people, relevance and situational control.

Evaluation of emotions from Americans and Hindus

Rosman and colleagues used another methodology to study the processes of evaluating sorrow, wrath and fear of American and Indian participants in experiment. They showed respondents to the expression of the face that corresponded to one of this emotions, and asked them to call the depicted emotions, describe what happened, which made a person experience this emotion, as well as to answer 26 issues of evaluation of the event.

Scientists have found that both Americans and Indians equally assessed that anger and fear awakened the situation of helplessness, and the assessment of the relative inequality of the forces caused anger. In addition, in both cultures, the evaluation of events caused by someone else awakened anger, and not sadness and fear, and events caused by circumstances awakened sorrow or fear, not anger. Such data confirm the cultural resemblance in the emotional assessment processes.

Evaluation processes in Sheremer and his colleagues

Perhaps the most serious cross-cultural study of emotion assessment processes is a series of shererta, which includes 3,000 participants in 37 countries. In this study, as you remember, the respondents asked to describe the event or the situation when they experienced one of seven emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, shame and guilt. The participants of the study responded to a series of issues intended to evaluate their opinion on the event, including issues related to the expectations of novelty, internal spare, benefits to achieve goals, justice, the potential opportunity to cope with the situation, norms and ideal ideas about their "I" .

Analyzes of these data show that although there were differences between the emotions and between countries, the differences between the countries were much smaller than the differences between emotions. In other words, emotion assessment processes have more similarities than differences in different cultures. Evaluation processes turned out to be associated with seven emotions.

Happiness is a high benefit to achieve goals, high potential to control the situation.

Fear - sudden, new events caused by other people or circumstances, an obstacle to meet the needs, when a person feels helpless.

Anger is an obstacle to the achievement of the goal, immorality, but a person has sufficient potential to cope with this feeling.

Sadness - reduces the ability to achieve the goal, low potential opportunity to cope with the situation.

Disgust - deep immorality and injustice.

Shame or sense of guilt - attribution

self responsibility for action, a high degree of inconsistency of this action internal standards.

Again, these data indicate a high degree of cultural similarity in the process of evaluating emotion. They confirm the concept that emotions are a universal phenomenon characterized by the psychobiological similarity between cultures, and such a point of view complies with the data of previous studies that consider the versatility of many emotions.

Cultural differences in evaluating emotions

Despite serious data on cross-cultural similarities in the process of evaluating emotions, each of the research mentioned by us also speaks of a number of cultural differences. In all countries, cultural differences were relatively insignificant compared to the differences attributed to emotions, which is why all the authors insisted at least to some extent the universality of the evaluation of emotions. Nevertheless, cultural differences that were obtained need to be explained.

The difference in evaluating emotions from Americans and Japanese

The first of the research comparing American and Japanese emotional reactions collected during extensive studies of Sheremer and his colleagues showed significant cultural differences of how people in different cultures evaluate the situation causing emotions. The impact of events causing emotions and their impact on self-esteem varies depending on the culture: emotions have a more positive impact on self-esteem and self-confidence of Americans than the Japanese. Attribution Causality of emotions also vary depending on the culture: Americans attribute the cause of sorrow to other people, and the Japanese themselves. Americans also more often attribute causes of joy, fear and shame to other people, while the Japanese, as a rule, attribute the causes of these emotions to a chance or fate. The Japanese more than the Americans are inclined to believe that no action or behavior is necessary after the emotion has been provoked. When it comes to such emotions, as fear, Americans more often than the Japanese believe that they can do something to affect the situation. As for the wrath and disgust, the Americans are more inclined to believe that they are helpless and are affected by the events and its consequences. And feeling shame and guilt, the Japanese more Americans pretended that nothing happened, and tried to come up with any excuses.

Other cultural differences in evaluating emotions

According to Rousst and his colleagues, the Indians evaluated the events causing sadness, fear and anger, as more suitable for their reasons. They also believed that their ability to influence these events less than the Americans. Mauro and his assistants pointed out the differences between four cultures in their study of control parameters, responsibility and anticipation of efforts. Scientists suggested that cultural differences were associated with differences in individualistic and collectivist cultures, since they may be associated with differences in the apparent situational control. Indeed, they found that Americans, in general, had higher control rates than respondents in other three countries.

Differences of estimates in Sheremer studies

In his two studies, Sherler pointed to cultural differences in evaluating emotions. In the first, he classified each of the 37 countries depending on the geopolitical regions. Sherler found that for all emotions, except happiness, participants from African countries considered events awakening these emotions, more unfair, contradictory morals and more often with an external cause, than it was according to participants from other regions. Respondents from Latin America have the lower indicators of perception of immorality than people in other regions. Analyzes, including climate, cultural values \u200b\u200bof Isocioeconomic and demographic factors, do not explain these differences. Still Sherler suggested that the general factor of urbanism can explain both of these data on Africa and Latin America.

"Completion" of the rating parameters

The results of the research described by us suggest that although many evaluation processes are universal for all people, there are some cultural differences, especially when it concerns the parameters of the assessment requiring judgments relative depending on cultural and social norms, such as justice and morality. Therefore, it seems that cultural differences may arise in these "complex" rating parameters, and not in more "primitive" directions, as Rosman believed and his colleagues. Apparently, there is something congenital and inherent in all people, which causes universal emotional experiences, but the role of culture in complex cognitive processes makes it possible to carry out more subtle distinctions between emotions. These data and interpretations are completely harmonized with the data described in this chapter on universal and relative aspects of emotions for each culture. While the cross-cultural study of emotion estimates as a whole includes only a limited number of emotions, which are considered universal, research in the future can expand these data, will include a wider range of emotions and indicate specific cultural differences in the evaluation processes of the emotions due to culture.

Culture, concept and language of emotions

In the last section of this chapter, we explore how culture affects the concept of emotion itself and on the terms used to determine it. In fact, throughout the chapter, we talked about emotions as if this word for all people means the same thing. Researchers studying emotion fall into the same trap. And, of course, research indicating the universality of expressing emotions, about recognition, experiences, prerequisites and assessment will defend the similarity of the concept, understanding and terms, at least a narrow series of emotions. What about other terms and phenomena that we call "emotions"? Let's start our research with the fact that we consider emotions as they understand them in the USA,

Emotions in the daily life of Americans

In the US encourage feelings. We all understand that each of us is unique and that we all have our own attitude towards things, events, situations and people around us. We deliberately try to understand our feelings, "follow them." Follow your feelings and emotionally to understand the world around me means to be a mature person in our society.

Throughout life, we attach great importance to feelings and emotions. As adults, we cherish our feelings and actively try to understand the feelings of our children and other people around. Parents often ask their little children, as they like swimming lessons or music, their teachers at school or cabbage on plates. Parents attach great importance to the feelings of their children when they take any decisions. "If Johnny does not want to do this, we should not force it," so many parents feel in the United States. In fact, the emotions of children possess almost the same status as the emotions of adults and the elderly.

Emotions and psychotherapy

Based on emotions, the main part of the therapeutic work in psychology is being built. The purpose of individual psychotherapy systems is often to force people to be better aware of their feelings and emotions and take them. Many psychotherapeutic work is built on the fact that people freely allow them to express their feelings and emotions from which they can boil inside. In group therapy, participants mainly transmit their feelings to another in the group and listen and accept the expressions of feelings of other people. Such a tendency exists in working groups outside of psychotherapy. A lot of time and effort is spent in various organizations to increase the level of communication between employees and it is better to understand the feelings and emotions of people.

Emotions and values \u200b\u200bof American culture

The way that American society evaluates and structures the feelings and emotions of people, is directly related to the values \u200b\u200bof American culture. In the US, strong individualism is the cornerstone of Dominants in culture, and partly strong individualism means that we understand and appreciate the unique features of each person. A variety of feelings and emotions is a part of this complex; In practice, this understanding may be the most important part in the identification of people, because the emotions themselves are personal and individual concepts. Children are considered individuals and their feelings are valued. When we "fix" something with the help of psychotherapeutic intervention, the therapist is often trying to help uncover the client with emotion and express it.

Emotions from the point of view of American psychologists

Early emotion theories

Even learning emotions in American society has its own peculiarity. The first American psychologist who developed a significant emotion theory was William James. In the second volume of the principles of psychology, James Watz did the assumption that emotions arise as a result of the reaction of our behavior on an incentive. For example, if we see the bear, we run away from it and then interpret our run, heavy shortness of breath and other changes in the internal organs in the body as fear. Another scientist, K. Lange), wrote about emotions in the same vein, and now this theory is called the theory of the emotion of James-Lange.

With the time of James, other emotion theories were developed. Cannon, for example, believed that the excitation of the vegetative nervous system occurs too slowly and does not explain the changes in emotional experiences. On the contrary, he and Bard believed that emotional experiences arise from direct stimulation of centers in the cerebral cortex, which generates a conscious experience of emotion. Thus, we feel fear when we see a bear, due to the stimulation of some centers of the brain provoking this reaction. From this point of view, our running and shortness of breath arise as a result of fear, and not foreshadow it.

In 1962, Shakhtar and Singer published a very large impact on the psychology of the study of emotions, in which they suggested that emotional experiences depend solely on personal interpretation by the environment of the environment. In accordance with this theory, emotions are not differentiated physiologically. On the contrary, it is important in the production of emotional experience, as a person interprets experienced events. Emotion gives a name to excitement or behavior in this situation.

The influence of culture on the theory of emotions

Despite the seeming differences between these theories of emotions, they are similar in how American culture "directed" the methods of these scientists. All scientists are assigned an important role to subjective experiences of emotions, that is, the experience of internal feelings. Theories of James-Lange, Cannon-Bard and Shakhtar-Singer are trying to explain the nature of the subjective inner state, which we call emotion. All these scientists believe that emotion is a subjective feeling, although it is explained in different ways to appear. Thus, emotion is an internal, individual, private event, which in itself matters.

Focus on the subjective inner sensation of emotion allows us to give emotions of paramount importance in our lives, they are experiencing children or adults, those who cares about other or recipients of such care. When we understand our feelings and find ways to express them, we understand and accept the experiences of other people, are all ways with which American culture forms our emotions. And it is precisely so American scientists try to understand them.

Another important source of theories and research of emotions is an emotional expression substantial for the universality of the studies described earlier. These evolutionary theories also discharge the main role with subjective, introspective, internal feelings. That is, when we focus on expressing emotions, they mean that something - emotion - is expressed. Since emotional expressions are an external manifestation of internal experiences, then these theories suggest that the internal, subjective experience is an important part (probably the most important part) of emotions.

Such an idea of \u200b\u200bemotion gives good, intuitive sensation to many of us. But this way of understanding emotion can be specific to American culture. Are other cultures really belong to emotions? Cross-cultural studies suggest that, despite the fact that in different cultures there are many common in the concept of emotion, there are also some interesting differences.

Cultural similarities and differences in the concept of emotions

In the field of anthropology and psychology there were many studies on this issue. In fact, the number of research and the amount of emotion information in these various social disciplines speaks of the importance of emotions in human life and what scientists give it great importance. Ethnographic methods - deep immersion and study of individual crops essentially - based on anthropology, especially useful, they help to discover how different cultures determine and understand the concept that we call emotion. Several years ago, Russell made an overview of most of the cross-cultural and anthropological literature on the concepts of emotion and pointed out many species of cultures, sometimes quite significantly, and in their definitions and understanding of emotion. His review provides a serious basis for discussion on this topic.

Concept and definition of emotion

First of all, Russell indicates that not all cultures have a term corresponding to our word emotion. Levi indicates that Taitians have no word denoting emotion; There is no His and the nation of Ifaluki from Micronesia. The fact that in some cultures there is no word that could correspond to our word emotion is very important; Obviously, in these cultures, the concept of emotions differs from our understanding.

Probably for other cultures, it does not have such much importance as for our culture. Or, perhaps, what we know as emotion is called differently and is not translated and refers not only to subjective feelings. In this case, their concept of emotions will be very different from our.

Not all cultures have a term corresponding to our word emotion.

However, in most cultures in the world there is still a word or a concept that denotes what we call emotion. Brandt and voucher investigated the concepts of depression in eight different cultures whose languages \u200b\u200bincluded Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Spanish and Singalese. In each of the languages \u200b\u200bthere was a word denoting emotion, so it can be assumed that this concept exists in different cultures. But even if in culture and there is a word denoting emotion, this word can have different connotations and different meanings that differ from our English word emotion.

Matsuyama, Hama, Kawamura and Mine analyzed emotional words from the Japanese language, which included some words typically denoted emotions (for example, "angry", "angry"). However, some words that Americans did not relate to the names of emotions (for example, "attentive, lucky"). The inhabitants of Samoa is no word denoting emotion, but there is a word Lagona characterizing feelings and sensations.

In general, not in all cultures of the world there is a word or a concept that corresponds to the English word Emotion, and even where there is such a word, it can mean at all the same as emotion in English. These studies suggest that the class of events - expressions, perceptions, feelings, situations - what we call emotion does not necessarily represent the same class of phenomena in other cultures.

Categorization or designation of emotions

People in different cultures are differently denoted or called emotions. Some English words, such as anger, joy, sadness, sympathy and love, have equivalents in various languages \u200b\u200band cultures. However, many English words have no equivalent in other cultures and words denoting emotions in other languages \u200b\u200bmay not have accurate English equivalent.

In German, use the word SchadenFreude indicating the pleasure that a person receives from other failures. For this word, there is no accurate English equivalent. In Japanese there are words like itoshii.(passionate attraction to the missing beloved), ijirashii (feeling associated with the fact that we see another person worthy of praise, which overcomes obstacles) and ata (Dependence), also not having accurate English translations. On the contrary, in some African languages \u200b\u200bthere is a word, at the same time including the value of two emotions of WangliSky language: anger and sorrow. Lutz assumes that the word song. In the language of the nation, the Ifaluk can be described sometimes as anger, and sometimes as sadness. Some English words also have no equivalents in other languages. English words horror, nightmare, fear, timidity - designated the only word gurakadj. In the language of Australian aborigines. This word Aboriginal also denotes the English concepts of shame and fear. For the word frustration, maybe there is no accurate equivalent in Arabic.

English words horror, nightmare, fear, timidity, fear and shame - are indicated in the language of the Australian Aboriginal, the only word Gurakadj.

If there is no word in culture corresponding to what we call emotion, this, of course, does not mean that people in this culture do not share these feelings. The fact that in some Arabic languages \u200b\u200bthere is no accurate equivalent for the word frustration does not mean that people in these cultures never experience it. Just as in English there is no equivalent to the German word SchadenFreude , This does not mean that people speaking other languages \u200b\u200bsometimes do not feel pleasure from someone's failure. (Of course, this is not you, the reader, and not me!) Naturally, in the world of subjective, emotional experiences in different cultures should be much common in the emotions experienced by us, regardless of whether different cultures and languages \u200b\u200bhave a term exactly describing these Experience.

Disposal of emotional states

The difference in words translations for the designation of the emotional state really implies that emotional states are not equally distinguished in different cultures. For example, the fact that in German culture is the word SchadenFreude , It should imply that the identification of this sensation or situation is important for language and culture, and in American culture and English it is not. The same can be said about English words that do not have accurate translation equivalent in other languages. The types of words that are rainseed cultures are used to identify and name the emotional world of their members give us another key to understanding how different cultures and experiences are being formed. The concepts of emotions are not only culturally due, but these are also ways, with which each culture is trying to designate and call their emotional world.

Localization of emotions

For Americans, probably the only significant aspect of emotion is internal, subjective experiences. In the US, it seems to be natural that our feelings have preference compared to all other aspects of emotions. However, the great importance we attach our inner feelings, and great importance introspecia (Observing for himself) may be due to American psychology. Other cultures can really consider emotions as arising or placing in another place.

Words denoting emotions, in the languages \u200b\u200bof some oceania, such as residents of Samoa Islands, Aboriginal Pintuppeps and the residents of Solomon Islands, describe the relationship between people or between people and events. Similarly, Furman assumes that African concept semteeEnde., which is often translated as shame or confusion, more characterizes the situation than the feeling. That is, if the situation matches semteeEnde. then someone is experiencing this feeling, no matter what a person feels in reality.

In the US, emotion and internal sensations are traditionally localized in the heart. However, even cultures that put emotions into the body, they take different places. The Japanese identify many of their emotions with hARA - interns or belly. Self from Malaya put the feelings of thought into the liver. Levi writes that the Taitians place the emotions of the sun "inside. Lutz believes that the word of Ifalukov, the nearest emotion to the English Word, is Niferash , which she translates as "our insides."

The fact that various cultures place emotions in various places in the body of a person or outside it, telling us that emotions are understood in different ways for different people mean not the same concepts. The placement of emotions in the heart is of great importance in American culture, because he speaks of a great meaning of feelings as something unique in itself, which is not anyone else. Identifying emotion with a heart, Americans, thereby compare it with the most important biological body necessary for survival. The fact that other cultures identify and place emotions outside the body, for example, they include their social relationships with others, speaks of the large value of relationships in these cultures, in contrast to the importance of individualism of American culture.

The meaning of emotions for people and their behavior

All differences in the concept and meaning of the emotions, discussed by us, point out the equal role, which in cultures are given to emotional experiences. In the US, emotions have a lot of personal importance for a person, probably due to the fact that Americans tend to consider subjective feelings of the main defining characteristic of emotions. As soon as the emotions are defined in this way, the leading role of emotions is to report it. Our self-determination is how we define and identify ourselves - due to our emotions, i.e., personal and internal experiences.

Cultures differ in the role and meaning of emotions. In many cultures, for example, it is believed that emotions are indicators of relationships between people and their surroundings, whether it is subject to the environment or social relations with other people. In Ifalukov in Micronesia and Taitian, emotions serve as indicators of relationships with others and with a physical environment. Japanese AMAE concept, the main emotion in Japanese culture, denotes the relationship of interdependence between two people. Thus, the concept itself, definition, understanding and value of emotions in different cultures vary. Therefore, when we speak with others about our feelings, we cannot simply assume that they will understand us as we expect, even when we are talking about some kind of "basic" human emotion. And we, of course, cannot assume that we know what someone else feel and what it means is simply on the basis of our limited understanding of emotion.

Summary

While in the world there is a lot of common in concepts and designation of emotions, there are also many interesting differences. Do these differences suggest that emotions are initially incompatible in different cultures? Some scientists think so, and most often those who adhere to the "functionalist" approach. Personally, I do not think this is option or - or. In my opinion, in all cultures there are both universal and relative aspects of emotion. However, according to research in this section, scientists need to combine the assessment of emotions in the cultures with which they work, and other aspects of the emotions studied by them. That is, scientists interested in the study of expressions of emotions in different cultures should evaluate the concepts associated with the emotions studied in cultures, in addition to their expression in behavior in order to investigate the degree of similarities or differences in expressions related to the differences and similarities in the concept of emotions. The same is true for all aspects or components of emotion.

Conclusion

Emotions are very personal and, as you can prove, the most important aspect of our life. It is emotions that make the meaning of the events taking place. They inform us what we like, and what - no, what is good for us, and what is bad. They enrich our lives, give coloring and meaning the events and peace around us. They tell us who we are and as we go with other people. Emotions are invisible threads connecting us with the rest of the world, whether events or people occur around us. Emotions play as an important role in our life, which is not surprising that culture, an invisible component of experiences, forms our emotional world. Although we are probably born with some congenital abilities, such as the ability to express and perceive emotions on the faces, and the ability to feel emotions, culture helps us form them then, and therefore, as we express them, perceive and feel. Culture gives our emotions meaning, regardless of whether we perceive emotions as personal and individual experience or interpersonal, public and collective experience with other people.

In this chapter, we saw the universality of a small number of mimic expressions of emotions, which, most likely, evolutionally adaptive and biologically congenital. We have seen the evidence of the universal recognition of this number of expressions of individuals around the world, as well as universal experiences of emotions. We have seen that the nature of the prerequisites awakening these emotions is universal and that the emotions caused by such prerequisites are estimated equally.

Culture gives our emotions. No matter if we perceive emotions as a personal and individual experience or interpersonal, public and collective experience with other people.

However, we also seen that cultures may differ in emotional expressions due to the different rules of cultural manifestation and in their emotional perception through the rules of decoding emotions in culture. The experiences of people in different cultures are different, and specific events that caused emotions are different. Some aspects of the evaluation of emotions and even concepts and the language of emotions can be sacrificed in different cultures.

The coexistence of universal and specific aspects of emotions for many years is sources of disputes. I believe that these positions are not necessarily mutually exclusive; i.e. versatility and cultural relativism can coexist. In my opinion, universality is limited to a small number of emotions that serve as a platform for interactions with assimilated rules, social ingredients and common social scenarios, which leads to countless, more complex emotions, concrete for each culture, and new emotional values. The fact that universality exists does not deny the potential of cultural differences. Similarly, the fact that cultural differences exist does not deny the potential differences in culture. And the fact that cultural differences exist does not deny the potential universality-emotion. These are the two sides of one coin, and they must be taken into account in future theories and studies of emotions, be it intracultural or cross-cultural research.

In fact, the accounting of the main universal psychobiological processes in the model of the cultural structure of emotions is a problem extending much further than this study. Scientists in this field of psychology will need to solve even more significant problem and find out how biology interacts with the culture to develop individual and group psychology.

If you do not take into account everything else, our understanding of emotions as a universal process can help combine people, regardless of race, culture, ethnic and gender affiliation. As we continue our study of human feelings is probably the most important thing to understand how these borders form our emotions. Although we all have emotions, they mean different things for different people and are experiencing differently, expressed and perceived. One of our first tasks in the assimilation of information about emotions in different cultures is to understand and take into account these differences. However, as an important task is to search for general traits.

GLOSSARY

Introspection- Self-surveillance process.

Universality studies - A number of studies conducted by Economy, Frize and Izard, which demonstrated the general cultural versatility of expressions of emotions on the face.

Cultural rules for expressing emotions - Rules prescribed by culture that indicate how a person can express his emotions. These rules are mainly concentrated on the relevance of the manifestation of emotions depending on the social situation. We digest people from childhood, they dictate how universal emotions should be changed in accordance with the social situation. To maturity, these rules become completely automatic, as the person has long been learned in practice.

Estimation Evaluation - The process by which people evaluate events, situations or incidents forcing them to experience emotions.

Decoding Rules -rules that manage interpretation and perception of emotion. These are assimilated, based on cultural knowledge of the rules that prescribe a person to see and interpret the emotional expressions of other people adopted in culture in the way.

Emotion Backgrounds -events or situations awakening emotions. Other name - Emotion pathogens .

Subjective experience of emotion- Personal inner feeling or experience.

Functionalist approach - The point of view, according to which emotion is a number of social, behavioral and subjective components of "socially general scenarios", which are formed as the rules of culture are assimilated. Thus, emotion reflects the cultural environment and is as an integral part of it, like morality and ethics.

They work unnoticed for us: they launch cognitive processes (recognition and argument), physical sensations affect the behavior.

Emotions - the strongest motivator. It is they who manage our desire to survive, multiply, communicate and behave in accordance with moral implications.

Men are experiencing the same emotions as women. Just we are taught to express feelings in different ways.

There are more than hundreds of emotions. And these are only those we know about.

Seven basic emotions are anger, sadness, fear, surprise, disgust, delight and happiness.

The most contradictory emotion. Why? Because it can mean a lot: joy, lunizing, euphoria ...

In order to express a full range of emotions, nature has awarded us 43 muscles responsible for facial expressions.

Emotions can last from a split second to a few minutes. Negative emotions We are experiencing longer than positive.

Mood - something longer than emotion. We can stay in it from a few minutes to several days. In addition, it affects how you are experiencing. For example, if you are not in the spirit, anger will make your blood boil much stronger than usual.

In Russian, there is an expression "I feel the guts." Forgiveness. Emotions affect the vegetative nervous system, which controls the basic functions of the body, for example digestion, blood circulation, breathing and sexual desire.

Daniel / Flickr.com.

Emotions are universal. The expressions of people in Russian and Zimbabwe are no distinguished on the condition that people experience the same emotions. But triggers feelings, of course, are different.

Love is not emotion. This state during which you can experience many feelings: joy, sadness, longing, anger ...

You can cultivate and change your own emotions. For this you need to say thanks to the prefrontal cortex of the brain. You can forget about emotions, interpret it in your own way or even change its value for yourself, and therefore - and the response to the feeling.

This is the key to everything. The sooner you identify your emotion, the more ways to deal with it will be with it. To understand how your consciousness works, try to consult meditation.

If you mimic one or another emotion for a long time, such as disgust or anger, you will cover these feelings to truly.

More importantly. According to statistics, your financial well-being is 85% depends on your leadership qualities, the ability to communicate and negotiate. And only by 15% - from erudition.

Your reflections about justice, obligations, strength, kindness and mutual assistance are expressed in such emotions as compassion, gratitude, embarrassment and trembling. These feelings developed in a person for thousands of years. So morality is literally embodied in ourselves.

Only 1% of people are able to completely hide emotions from others.

10% of people do not know how exactly they feel. This is called Aleksitimia. Because of such dysfunction, a person is not able to describe his emotions with words, distinguish one feeling from another and understand the mood of others.

People who are interested in Botox injections will still have emotions. This killer wrinkles paralyzes some, and therefore sometimes it seems that a person in front of you does not feel anything at all. But this is not true. But Aleksitimia in a person with Botoks is a catastrophe.

Culture

Singapore and the Philippines are in one corner of the card, but a huge emotional ocean runs between them.

A recent study revealed that Singapore is the most non-modest country in the worldAnd its inhabitants are least expressing positive and negative emotions. At the same time, the Philipins are distinguished by strong emotions.

The new survey of Gallpa 150 countries more than 1,000 people aged 15 and older was held from 2009 to 2011. Participants were asked if they often experienced 10 different emotions on the eve, including five negative (anger, stress, sadness, physical pain and anxiety) and five positive (rest, smiles and laughter, respect, pleasure and studying something new and interesting).

The researchers then averaged the percentage of residents in each country that answered "Yes" to questions regarding emotions. In the lower end of the list, the inhabitants of Singapore were, where 36 percent of the inhabitants experienced the entire range of these emotions daily. In second place in the smallest emotionality, Georgia was, and on the third - Lithuania. Behind them followed such "non-modest" countries like Russia, Madagascar and Ukraine.

In the same time list of emotional countries headed PhilippinesWhere 60 percent of the inhabitants experienced 10 of the proposed emotions every day. They followed El Salvador, Bahrain, Oman, Colombia, Chile and Costa Rica.

The researchers also analyzed separately positive and negative emotions and found that residents of the Middle East and North Africa are experiencing more negative emotions, and Latin American residents are most of all positive emotions.

10 most non-modest countries:

1. Singapore: 36 percent

2. Georgia: 37 percent

3. Lithuania: 37 percent

4. Russia: 38 percent

5. Madagascar: 38 percent

6. Ukraine: 38 percent

7. Belarus: 38 percent

8. Kazakhstan: 38 percent

9. Nepal: 38 percent

10. Kyrgyzstan: 38 percent

10 most emotional countries:

1. Philippines: 60 percent

2. Salvador: 57 percent

3. Bahrain: 56 percent

4. Oman: 55 percent

5. Colombia: 55 percent

6. Chile: 54 percent

7. Costa Rica: 54 percent

8. Canada: 54 percent

9. Guatemala: 54 percent

10. Bolivia: 54 percent

The happiest countries of the world

This year also announced the rating of the happiest countries. "Report on world happiness", published by the UN, indicates satisfaction with life in the modern world, while the "International Happiness Index" reflects the personal well-being, the state of the environment and the life expectancy of different countries.

"Report on world happiness": the happiest countries in 2012

2. Finland

3. Norway

4. Netherlands

"International Happiness Index": the happiest countries in 2012

1. Costa Rica

2. Vietnam

3. Colombia.

Why is a person able to finely feel other people and their feelings? Find out what empathy is and how to protect yourself from foreign emotions!

What allows a person to finely feel other people?Principle of operation of Empathy

Empathy¹ is the ability of a person to feel other people, other people's emotions, desires and feelings. It belongs to the extrasensory perception: developed high-intestaciousness allows you to perceive the emotions of other people.

In fact, most people have the ability to empathy, it is simply expressed in varying degrees. This is a deep personal feeling that it is not customary to speak.

You need to be able to manage your ultraxipability to be able to manage, use at your request and "turn off" when it is not needed.

Some people intuitively know how to do it. The others do not know this. In this case, empathy will bring suffering to its media: some people can not even distinguish their emotions and other people: everything is felt like their own feeling!

In the usual state, when a person does not have a developed empathy, or when the ability is consciously disabled, it looks like this:

When he starts to empathize, Aura becomes a "porous":

Speaking figuratively when the empath is centered in himself, it looks like a bowl, and when it starts to actively empathize, it becomes like a colander.

Holes in the energy body, "Pores" miss the mental energy to a person, a connection is lined up, and the empath begins to finely feel his experiences.

It also happens the opposite: when the energy of the world's attention passes in you: from other people, places and events.

If the empathy is managed, it becomes a powerful ability, because it allows you to foresee things and events taking place with other people.

Before action, the decision process takes place. Empaths are able to finely feel other people, which intends to make a person before the action!

Empathy allows you to experience the experience of the unity of being, feel like another person, to understand the actions of other people.

If the empath does not know how to "disable" this ability, it greatly affects his life and health, gradually destroys it.

How does an uncontrolled empathy manifest in life?

This spectrum is great, it always leads to the loss of internal energy by the constant waste of emotions. This can bring to physical extension - in fact, the empath takes on the physical and emotional pain of other people.

1. Hyperactive empathy in relationships

A person has a strong desire to help another when he sees that the problem has.

This leads to the fact that he begins to "take up" problems and forgets about himself. As a result, Empath internally ceases to understand where he and his life, and where the experiences of the other.

2. Hyperactive empathy in the social environment

In society, empath can not be long, because they lose themselves in the ocean of sensations from a variety of people around. They are so focused on the perception of emotions that hovering in the "air" and plunge into their world, which lose themselves, their integrity.

3. Hyperactive emotional empathy

Empath is strongly affected by someone else's emotional pain. If someone had a strong loss, for example, someone died, Empat can support this person, perceiving emotions for him, but then begins to feel bad and feel someone else's grief.

4. Hyperactive empathy in certain places

If the emphat enters the building, which is filled with emotions of many people, it begins to finely feel the entire emotional background of this place. This is manifested in hospitals, schools, etc.

5. Physical Empathy

Some empath can even feel the physical pain of other people! At first it is manifested in the fact that they perceive the pain itself in a particular place, and after physical empathy, strong headaches may occur.

These are the most common types of empathy, although there are much more types of empathy, such as intellectual sympathy, empathy with animals and plants and others.

In order to learn how to use the advantages of superposableness, it is necessary to control their empathy.

Notes and thematic articles for a deeper understanding of the material

¹ Empathy - conscious empathy in the current-mounted state of another person without losing the feeling of the external origin of this experience (