Psychology
Emotional Expression
Emotional expression refers to the outward display of one's emotions through facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, and gestures. It is a fundamental aspect of human communication and plays a crucial role in conveying feelings, intentions, and social cues. Understanding emotional expression is important in psychology as it provides insight into an individual's emotional state and interpersonal interactions.
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11 Key excerpts on "Emotional Expression"
eBook - PDFThe Expression of Emotion
Philosophical, Psychological and Legal Perspectives
- Catharine Abell, Joel Smith(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
Psychological work, in its turn, although paying great attention to the specific mechanisms underpinning different facial expressions, has sometimes lacked an appreciation of what it is that makes something an expression of emotion at all. Finally, work on the topic within legal and political contexts would benefit from a more substantial engage- ment with both philosophical and psychological work on the nature and communicative role of Emotional Expression. In the remainder of this introduction, therefore, not only do we expand on the three themes – the nature of emotion, the communica- tive role of emotion and the normative significance of emotion – we also draw connections between discussions of these issues within our three disciplines. I.1 The Nature of Emotional Expression Emotional Expressions can be divided into expressions of emotion, on the one hand, and behaviour that is merely expressive of emotion, on the other. This is a distinction familiar from related discussions in aesthetics (Bennett, this volume; Davies 1994: Ch. 4; Hospers 1954–1955). As we use the term, some piece of a subject’s behaviour can be an expression Introduction: Emotional Expression 3 3 of emotion only if there is in fact some emotion that the subject is in and that bears an appropriate relation to the expression. A piece of behav- iour that is merely expressive of emotion need not meet this condition. Thus, someone may simulate joy by smiling. This may be expressive of joy, but it is not an expression of joy. So, although all emotional expres- sions are expressive of emotion, not all are expressions of emotion, since some are merely expressive. Of course, not all expression is Emotional Expression at all. Our utterances express our opinions, for example (see Green 2007 for an account of expression that generalises to a wide vari- ety of cases).
eBook - PDF- Dacher Keltner, Keith Oatley, Jennifer M. Jenkins(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
In this way, expressions of emo- tion situate people in specific relationships. For example, anger clearly communicates strength and dominance vis-à-vis others (Knutson, 1996). When individuals express anger in the face or voice, they are perceived to have more power and are more likely to get their way in negotiations (van Kleef et al., 2006). Emotional Expressions also carry information about the sincerity of the sender’s intentions. For example, Eva Krumhuber and Tony Manstead and their colleagues have found that people trust interaction partners more and will give more resources to those partners who display authentic smiles (which have longer onset and offset times) than fake smiles, which have shorter onsets and offsets (Krumhuber et al., 2007). Finally, Emotional Expressions convey information about the environment, allowing individuals to coordinate their responses to outside opportunities or threats (e.g., Klinnert et al., 1986; Sorce et al., 1985). For example, parents use touch and voice to signal to their young children whether other people and objects in the environ- ment are safe or dangerous (Hertenstein & Campos, 2004). Emotional Expressions coordinate social interactions through their evocative function, trig- gering specific responses in perceivers. For example, consider the powerful reactions an infant’s cry produces in caregivers nearby, prompting protective actions that are a basis for enduring attachment. An infant’s cry includes a long, continuous sound accompanied by acoustic varia- tions that in one study were found to signal different states, including anger (when the infant’s hands were pinned down), pain (after getting a shot), or fear (upon hearing a loud sound) (Choliz et al., 2012).
eBook - PDFThe Emotional Mind
A Control Theory of Affective States
- Tom Cochrane(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
Still, it seems fair to say that bodily expressions make available the character of the emotional state to those observers capable of simulation. Thus the definition I will provide for expression in the following section will appeal to expressive properties, rather than the notion of showing the emotion. . Social Emotions Having discussed what it means to show an emotional state, let us return to the signalling function of bodily expressions. Before we can offer a formal definition of expression, this function must be pinned down. Our question then is why do we signal our emotional states? Again, this nods towards the debate between Simulation Theory and Theory Theory approaches to mind-reading. That is, while I prefer the simulation account to make sense of face-to-face expressive interactions, I allow here that something theory-like probably occurs in many emotion attributions. Expression Now, Peter Goldie (b) observes that genuine Emotional Expressions are not performed as a means to some further end. That is the hallmark of insincere expressive gestures (such as deliberately amplifying one’s sobbing in order to win sympathy). Thus genuine expressions are not reason- justified actions in the straightforward sense. However, Goldie’s point does not exclude the fact that emotions have intrinsic practical purposes. That is, emotions are regulative functions, and the bodily expressions contribute to those functions. The easiest way to make sense of the purpose of expressions is to begin from the perspective of the observer. In the previous chapter, I suggested that recognising the emotional meaning of bodily feelings permits calcula- tions of coping potential. That is, you represent how you are disposed to respond to a situation which you can then compare with the demands of the situation, adjusting your response accordingly. Recognising the emo- tional meaning of bodily expressions has a similar import.
eBook - PDFThe Interpersonal Dynamics of Emotion
Toward an Integrative Theory of Emotions as Social Information
- Gerben A. van Kleef(Author)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
Emotional Expressions provide a wealth of information that allows observers to gauge the social intentions of the expresser and to adjust their own behavior accordingly. People deliberately target their emo- tional expressions at others who in turn use those expressions as a source Emotions as social information 35 of information when deciding how to respond. Considerable degrees of continuity in the encoding and decoding of Emotional Expressions across human cultures and across primate species point to the possibility that our Emotional Expressions have evolved because they fulfill critical social-communicative functions. Indeed, a host of clinical and subclinical conditions that undermine the social-communicative functions of emo- tions can have far-reaching consequences for the quality of social interactions. If we accept the premise that Emotional Expressions contribute vitally to the regulation of social interaction, the next question is how this regulation occurs. In the following two chapters I discuss the various mechanisms that drive the social consequences of Emotional Expressions (Chapter 3) as well as the contingencies that govern the nature of these consequences (Chapter 4). 36 Part I Emotions as Social Information Theory CHAPTER 3 Mechanisms involved in the social effects of emotions Just as an outstretched finger tends to direct attention wherever it points, a witnessed emotion encourages us to take account of its implied perspective on events. Parkinson, Fischer, and Manstead (2005, p. 179) We have seen in the previous chapter that Emotional Expressions provide pertinent cues into the internal states of expressers. These cues play a critical role in social interaction by serving as communication devices that facilitate interpersonal coordination (Keltner & Haidt, 1999). Whenever individuals perceive the Emotional Expressions of others around them, they may be influenced by those expressions.
eBook - PDFBlushing and the Social Emotions
The Self Unmasked
- W. Crozier(Author)
- 2006(Publication Date)
- Palgrave Macmillan(Publisher)
The social nature of emotion Fridlund draws attention to the social nature of expression, highlighting the individual’s awareness of the reaction of others. An emotion is social in a number of respects: Emotional Expression plays an important com- municative role in social interactions; it is shaped by sociocultural fac- tors; more radically, it has no existence outside social and linguistic practices, as Lupton (1998, p. 15) puts it: ‘emotional states are viewed as purely contextual and cannot be reified as separate entities: they are not inherent or pre-existing, waiting to be studied by the observer’. Mead (1934) was influenced by Darwin’s book but he construed expression not as an indicator of an inner emotion but as a ‘social gesture’ that plays a key role in social interaction and in the acquisition of self- consciousness (see Chapter 2). The meanings of gestures are shared by social actors and this allows the individual to put himself in the place of another to understand how his behaviour looks to the other: ‘the indi- vidual’s consciousness depends on his thus taking the attitude of the other toward his own gestures’ (ibid., p. 47). Some emotions – shame, embarrassment and shyness – are evi- dently social in that they are experienced in the actual or imagined company of others. Furthermore, any visible sign of emotion has social consequences; it is judged to be appropriate or excessive and so on, and it informs others about the characteristics of the person show- ing it. As discussed in Chapter 4, the belief that Emotional Expression cannot be controlled or readily feigned makes it an effective cue for identifying people’s motives and for predicting their behaviour, for example in bargaining, where negotiators strive to keep an expres- sionless ‘poker’ face. Emotion and its Expression 17
eBook - PDF- Mary Ritchie Key(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- De Gruyter Mouton(Publisher)
UNDERSTANDING Emotional Expression The foregoing considerations concerning the nature of Emotional Expression have implications for the theory of 'understanding expression', and thus for nonverbal communication (cf. Frijda 1956, 1969). 112 Nico H. Frijda 'Understanding expression' involves, primarily, nothing but the apprecia-tion of the content of expression in the senses just outlined. One perceives the subject's opening up or closing down, his reticence or responsiveness, his readiness for approach or withdrawal; or one perceives his threat, power, his fuller or lesser presence, et cetera. Understanding expression amounts, in many instances, just to an immediate reading of the 'directions' and activity levels inherent in the expression, without any reference to feelings behind the manifest behavior. The sources of such understanding seem fairly simple: a general appreciation that the approach and sensory readiness imply enhanced intercourse with the subjects' environment, and the sheer perceptual impact upon the observer of size and vivid movement, of loud noise, etc. The only thing which seems to be required, in addition to the preceding, is the ability to view a piece of behavior as the possible starting-point of its continuation — a threat as a possible beginning of attack and the like (for sounds such as crying, more specific sensitivities may be involved). In any case, understand-ing expression involves an appreciation of relations where appreciation remains primarily in the behavioral and environmental domain. It consists either of sensing an impact upon me, the observer, or of sensing a situational referent for the perceiver's behavior: protective withdrawal indicates either success and leeway for me, or it indicates its complement, the presence of some threat in the environment. Only secondarily may the observer hypo-thesize some 'mental entity' — a feeling, an intention — behind that behavior. This is not necessary, however, for 'understanding' to occur.
eBook - PDF- John P. Houston, Helen Bee, David C. Rimm(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
260 Chapter 8 Emotion press the same emotions even across cultural barriers. For example, when facial photographs of individuals experiencing such emotions as anger, sadness, surprise, disgust, and happiness were shown to subjects from many different countries, the majority of subjects identified most of the emotions correctly (Ekman, 1971). This is not to say that everyone can identify all the emotions perfectly. But some facial expressions do seem to mean the same thing in many different cultures. This fact also leads to the conclu-sion that many forms of Emotional Expression are innate. On the other hand, not all forms of Emotional Expression are innate. Clearly, we learn very complicated methods of communicating our emo-tions. For example, if a young woman feels angry about something her date has just said, she may drive off in a huff, treat him with icy disdain, or slam a door. None of these ways of expressing anger is innate; they must all be learned. Conveying emotion through language may be the most obvious example of learned Emotional Expression. When surprised, W. C. Fields would fumble his hat up into the air and exclaim, Godfrey Daniel! Clearly, this is a learned expression. When someone calls you a no-good, low-down, thieving skunk, they are not expressing an innately determined pattern. They are utilizing learned methods of expressing emotion. In short, when people express emotions they use both innate modes of expression, such as facial expressions, crying, and laughing, and learned modes, such as the expression of emotion through language. Nonverbal expression of emotion The other language of emotion Ours is a language-oriented culture. But recent research has uncovered another language that we use constantly, even though we are not always aware that we are using it. We communicate a great deal through move-ments, gestures, facial expressions, and the tone of our voice. Much of this nonverbal communication has to do with the expression of emotion.
eBook - PDFSocial Psychology
Handbook of Basic Principles
- Paul A. M. Van Lange, E. Tory Higgins, Arie W. Kruglanski(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- The Guilford Press(Publisher)
The magnitude of the interpersonal effects of various forms of emotional expres- sion may vary due to differences in the relative strength of expressions and the degree to which they are picked up by others, but the direction of the effects should be the same irrespective of the expressive channel, as long as the Emotional Expression is accurately perceived. Research on the social effects of emotions has used a variety of procedures to manipulate Emotional Expressions, which makes it pos- sible to evaluate the tenability of the functional equivalence hypothesis by comparing results across studies. Some studies relied on verbal expressions of emotion, which were often de- livered in the context of (simulated) computer- mediated interactions (e.g., Adam, Shirako, & Maddux, 2010; Van Kleef, De Dreu, & Man- stead, 2004a). Other studies used pictures of facial Emotional Expressions (e.g., Van Doorn, Heerdink, & Van Kleef, 2012) or film clips con- taining Emotional Expressions in face, voice, and/or posture (e.g., Hess & Blairy, 2001; Van Kleef et al., 2009). Still other studies utilized face-to-face paradigms, in which confeder- ates were trained or naive participants were provoked to emit certain emotional expres- sions in interaction with another person (e.g., Barsade, 2002; Sinaceur & Tiedens, 2006; Sy, Côté, & Saavedra, 2005; Wang, Northcraft, & Van Kleef, 2012). Yet other research involved self-reports of emotions and/or perceptions or coding of Emotional Expressions as they arose in the context of ongoing social interactions (Averill, 1982; Fischer & Roseman, 2007). Fi- nally, some reports contain a combination of studies that involved written emotion messages, emoticons, and pictures of facial displays; film clips containing facial, vocal, and postural ex- pressions; and/or Emotional Expressions shown in face-to-face interaction (e.g., Heerdink, Van Kleef, Homan, & Fischer, 2013; Tiedens, 2001; Van Kleef, Van den Berg, & Heerdink, 2015).
eBook - PDF- A.W. Young, H.D. Ellis(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- North Holland(Publisher)
(1985) The development of the ability to interpret emotional signals - what is and is not known. In G. Zivin (Ed). The Development of Expressive Behavior: Biology-environment Interactions. New York: Academic Press, 319-346 Dougherty, F. E., Bartlett, E. and Izard, C. (1974) Responses of schizophrenics to expressions of the fundamental emotions. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 30, 243-246 Duchenne, B. (1862) Mechanisme de la Physionomie Humaine; ou, Analyse Electrophysiologique de 1'Expression des Passions. Paris: Bailliere Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I. (1973) The expressive behavior of the deaf- and blind-born. In M. von Cranach and I. Vine (Eds). Social Communication and Movement: Studies of Interaction and Expression in Man and Chimpanzee. New York: Academic Press, 163-194 Eisenberg, N., and Miller, P. (1987) The relation of empathy to prosocial and related behaviors. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 91-119 Ekman, P. (1972) Universals and cultural differences in facial expressions of emotion. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 1971, 19, 207-283 Ekman, P. (1973) Cross-cultural studies of facial expression. In P. Ekman (Ed). Darwin and Facial Expression: A Century of Research in Review. New York: Academic Press, 169-222 Ekman, P. (1978) Facial signs: Facts, fantasies and possibilities. In T. Sebeok (Ed). Sight, Sound and Sense. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 124-156 Ekman, P. (1984) Expression and the nature of emotion. In K. Scherer and P. Ekman (Eds). Approaches to Emotion. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum, 319-343 Ekman, P. (1986.) Telling Lies. New York: Berkeley Books Ekman, P. and Friesen, W. V. (1976) Pictures of Facial Affect. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press Ekman, P. and Friesen, W. V. (1978) Facial Action Coding System: A Technique for the Measurement of Facial Movement. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press Ekman, P. and Friesen, W. V. (1986) A new pancultural facial expression of emotion.
eBook - PDFHeart to Heart
How Your Emotions Affect Other People
- Brian Parkinson(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
Unlike neurocultural theory, then, the beha- vioural ecology approach assumes no one-to-one meaning-to-muscle mapping. 116 Facial Activity and Emotion Expression Affective Pragmatics Fridlund’s behavioural ecology theory contends that so-called emotion expressions are in fact facial displays that communicate social motives, thus implying that these two functions are mutually incompatible. If emotions are private and subjective states insulated from the social world, then their bearing on social motives seems tenuous at best. But what if emotions are in fact forms of relational activity (e.g., Frijda, 1986)? Perhaps facial movements convey social motives precisely because they embody emotional action readiness. In this case, the conflict between the emotion-expression and motive-communication views seems less pro- nounced (Parkinson, 2005). Scarantino (2017) presents an integrative account of facial activity that develops this kind of approach. In his view, emotion expressions are analogous to the speech acts studied by Austin (1962; see Chapter 2). As with emotion talk, we do not need to see facial activity as performing a purely expressive function, representing something going on inside. It can also serve pragmatic functions similar to those served by performa- tive utterances in spoken or written language (see also Fernández-Dols, 2017). For example, saying that ‘I have to get up early tomorrow’ not only presents you with facts about my schedule but may also be a hint that you should think about leaving and stop keeping me up so late. Similarly, Scarantino argues that a smile may express happiness, represent an event as pleasant, invite social interaction and promise cooperation, sometimes all at the same time. And other people may respond to smiles by register- ing any or all of these intended meanings. More generally, facial expres- sions can perform many of the same illocutionary actions as verbal statements.
eBook - PDFNonverbal Behavior
Applications and Cultural Implications
- Aaron Wolfgang(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
2. Emotion Expression and Physiological Arousal A number of studies (Prideaux, 1922; Landis, 1932; Jones, 1935; Block, 1957; Learmonth, Ackerly, & Kaplan, 1959; Buck, Savin, Miller, & Caul, 1969; Lanzetta & Kleck, 1970) have found an inverse relationship between physiological (internal) arousal and overt expression under various stimulus conditions. That is, the more people show their emotion facially and in emoti on-related gestures and actions, the less they experience internal arousal. Buck et al., 1969) presented their subjects with a series of slides that had been prerated on a pleasantness-unpleasantness continuum and measured their heart rate and skin resistance as they viewed the slides. Judges were asked to indicate whether the expressor was viewing a pleas-ant or unpleasant slide. The experimenters found that females were better nega- Facial Expression, Emotion and Motivation 45 tive expressors (senders) than males, and consistent with earlier studies they found a correlation between facial expressiveness and physiological responsiveness (skin resistance and heart rate). In their study of the personality characteristics of internalizers and extemal-izers, Buck et al. (1969) showed that internalizers were more introverted and had lower self-esteem than extemalizers. Internalizers were also more impersonal in their vocal descriptions of their emotions. One finding that stands in apparent contradiction to the others showed that internalizers had higher scores on sensi-tization on the Byrne (1961) repression -sensi tizati on scale. The puzzle here is that previous studies have described sensitizers as individuals who express their emotions freely rather than denying them. Further research will be required to elucidate the meaning of this finding. Buck et al (1969) offered a possible explanation of the oft repeated finding of a negative relationship between physiological responding (internal arousal) and overt expression.
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