EAPSI: Linking Beliefs about the Social Consequences of Emotions with Emotional Behavior

Senft Nicole M, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

Emotion regulation and emotional behavior depend on cultural context, but the mechanisms underlying these cultural differences are unclear. Recent work has found that the belief that emotions spread predicts reports of increased emotional expression and support seeking in Americans. The proposed study extends previous research to 1) identify the relationships between the beliefs that emotions spread and in-the-moment emotional behavior, and 2) explore whether these relationships are consistent across cultural contexts or are culturally dependent. Assessing the relationship between emotion beliefs and behaviors in two cultural contexts with documented differences in models of emotion will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of emotional behavior across cultural contexts. This understanding may improve the ability for international and multicultural settings, such as workplaces and schools, to facilitate intercultural interactions and benefit from their diversity. This research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Eunkook Suh at Yonsei University in Korea. In order to test these questions, American and Korean participants will be primed to think that emotions are either very easily spread or not easily spread. Emotional behavior will be assessed through videos of participants describing recent emotional experiences as if they were speaking to a close friend. It is hypothesized that European Americans primed with the belief that emotions spread will express higher levels of positive and negative emotions. If this pattern reflects basic emotional processes, it is expected that Korean participants will also be more expressive following this prime. However, concern about the negative consequences of emotions on relationships and interactions is more salient in Korean than American contexts. If the relationship between the belief that emotions spread and emotional behavior depends on culture, Koreans may be less likely to express emotions following the prime that they spread easily to others. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the National Research Foundation of Korea.