Cultural Influences on Emotions
What we have a right to feel or what we are expected to feel in particular situations; it reflects and perpetuates the values of cultures and social groups
What are feeling rules?
The ability to recognize feelings, to judge which feelings are appropriate in which situations, and to communicate those feelings effectively
What is emotional intelligence?
Another term for the organismic view of emotions
What is the James-Lange theory?
What we feel and how we express it are influenced by the culture and social groups to which we belong; for example, gender socialization shapes these emotions we feel
What are cultural and societal expectations?
Examples include withdrawing from interaction, lowering our head and eyes, not owning feelings, using counterfeit emotional language, and speaking in generalities
What is ineffective expression of emotion?
Some parents teach their children to control their inner feelings this way, which involves learning what they should and should not feel; requires changing how we perceive and label events and phenomena
What is deep acting?
Our experience and interpretation of internal sensations that are shaped by physiology, perceptions, language, and social experiences
What are emotions?
Experiencing emotion when external stimuli causes physiological changes in us; assumes that emotions are reflexes that follow from physiological actions
What is organismic view of emotions?
When we don't want to give others information that could affect how they perceive or act toward us
What is self protection?
Language that seems to express emotions but does not actually describe what a person is feeling; often includes explicit and foul verbiage
What is counterfeit emotional language?
Parents who emphasize this teach children to control outward behaviors; involves controlling the outward expression of emotion rather than controlling feelings
What is surface acting?
The character in the popular show "The Big Bang Theory" who displays zero emotional intelligence and who is often oblivious to other's feelings and his own
Who is Sheldon Cooper?
Similar to the perceptual view but offers a better explanation of how we move from experience to interpretation; according to this view, the mechanism that allows this is language
What is cognitive labeling view of emotions?
When we fear we could hurt or upset others or cause them to lose face; sometimes we make the ethical decision not to express emotions that would hurt another person and not achieve any positive outcome
What is protecting others?
Stating feelings in a way that disowns personal responsibility
What is not owning feelings?
The effort to generate what we think are appropriate feelings in particular situations; concerns the process of trying to shape how we feel and not necessarily our success in doing so
What is emotion work?
Having a strong yet realistic sense of optimism, recognizing social norms for expression of emotions, listening to your feelings and those of others so you can learn from them, etc
What does emotional intelligence consist of?
Asserts that subjective perceptions shape what external phenomena mean to us; that external objects and events have no intrinsic meaning until we attribute significance to them
What is the perceptual view of emotions/appraisal theory?
When our roles may make it inappropriate, such as an attorney crying over a tragic story heard in court
What are social and professional roles?
Statements like "I feel bad" and "I'm happy" that express emotional states but vaguely and ineffectively; very general and abstract to where they don't communicate clearly
What is speaking in generalities?
An example of this are Irish wakes and the Jewish practice of sitting shiva; they define the emotional meaning of situations
What are framing rules?
Individuals who are more likely to create satisfying relationships, to be comfortable with themselves, to work effectively with others, and to have better overall health
What are people with high emotional intelligence?
This Ancient Greek philosopher observed that people are disturbed not by things but by the views we take of them. Thus, our perceptions filter our experiences, and it is the filtered experiences that influence what we feel and how we respond
Who is Epictetus?
When we restrain expression of feelings, particularly negative ones, because we may have a relationship with someone who we perceive as more powerful than us; we suppress complaints and dissatisfaction because we fear the more powerful could punish us
What is the chilling effect?
Revising a statement to no longer suggest that somebody other than the speaker is the source or cause of the angry feeling, as only we are responsible for our own feelings
What is using "I" language?